ZWCAD User Guide manual ZWCAD Standard 2024, Professional 2024
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ZWCAD User Guide
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ZWCAD User Guide
Contents
1. The User Interface ............................................................................................... 6
1.1.
The Application Menu ...................................................................................... 6
1.2.
The Ribbon ..................................................................................................... 8
1.3.
Quick Access Toolbar ........................................................................................ 9
1.4.
Menus and Shortcut Menus .............................................................................. 9
1.5.
Toolbars ....................................................................................................... 12
1.6.
The Command Window .................................................................................. 13
1.7.
Dynamic Input ............................................................................................... 17
1.8.
Customize the Drawing Environment ................................................................ 21
2. Create and Save a Drawing................................................................................. 24
2.1.
Create a New Drawing .................................................................................... 24
2.2.
Open an Existing Drawing................................................................................ 27
2.3.
Save a Drawing .............................................................................................. 32
2.4.
Crash Report ................................................................................................. 34
3. Control the Drawing Views................................................................................. 36
3.1.
Redraw and Regenerate a Drawing ................................................................... 36
3.2.
Magnify a View (Zoom).............................................................
...................... 36
3.3.
Pan a View.................................................................................................... 40
3.4.
Display Multiple Views in Model Space ............................................................. 41
3.5.
Work with Multiple Drawings .......................................................................... 44
3.6.
Specify a 3D View .......................................................................................... 46
4. Precision Tools and the Properties of Drawing .................................................... 53
4.1.
Specify Units, Angles, and Scale ....................................................................... 53
4.2.
Drawing Limits............................................................................................... 57
4.3.
Grid and Grid Snap ......................................................................................... 57
4.4.
Use Object Snaps ............................
............................................................... 60
4.5.
Use Polar Tracking and Object Snap Tracking ...................................................... 62
4.6.
Use Orthogonal Locking (Ortho Mode) .............................................................. 66
4.7.
Work with Linetypes....................................................................................... 67
4.8.
Work with Layers ........................................................................................... 70
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4.9.
Work with Colors ........................................................................................... 79
4.10.
Control Lineweights .................................................................................... 82
4.11.
Control the Display of Overlapped Objects ..................................................... 84
4.12.
Extract and Calculate Geometric Information from Objects ............................... 87
4.13.
Specify
Intervals on Objects ......................................................................... 91
5. Coordinates and Coordinate System ................................................................... 95
5.1.
Coordinates .................................................................................................. 95
5.2.
Control the User Coordinate System ................................................................102
6. Create Objects ..................................................................................................113
6.1.
Draw Linear Objects ......................................................................................113
6.2.
Draw Curved Objects .....................................................................................125
6.3.
Create 3D Objects .........................................................................................135
6.4.
Create Regions ......................................................................
.......................158
6.5.
Create Revision Clouds ..................................................................................160
6.6.
Create Break Lines ........................................................................................160
6.7.
Create Wipeouts...........................................................................................161
7. Modify Objects .................................................................................................163
7.1.
Select Objects ..............................................................................................163
7.2.
Modify Objects .............................................................................................171
7.3.
Modify Compound Objects.............................................................................201
7.4.
Use Grips to Edit Objects................................................................................208
7.5.
Modify the Properties of Objec
ts.....................................................................217
7.6.
Modify 3D Solids...........................................................................................219
7.7.
Use Windows Cut, Copy, and Paste ..................................................................231
7.8.
Correct Mistakes...........................................................................................233
8. Notes and Labels ..............................................................................................235
8.1.
Create Text...................................................................................................235
8.2.
Change Text .................................................................................................244
8.3.
Work with Text Styles ....................................................................................246
8.4.
Check Spelling .................................................................................
.............252
8.5.
Smart Voice .................................................................................................254
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9. Dimensions and Tolerances ...............................................................................256
9.1.
Overview of Dimensioning .............................................................................256
9.2.
Use Dimension Styles ....................................................................................257
9.3.
Create Dimensions ........................................................................................271
9.4.
Modify Existing Dimensions............................................................................282
9.5.
Add Geometric Tolerances .............................................................................288
9.6.
Table...........................................................................................................293
10.
Blocks, Attribute and Xrefs .
............................................................................298
10.1.
Create and Insert Blocks .............................................................................298
10.2.
Define and Use Block Attributes...................................................................305
10.3.
Reference Other Drawing Files (Xrefs) ...........................................................308
10.4.
Dynamic Blocks .........................................................................................322
11.
Hatches and Raster Images ............................................................................331
11.1.
Hatches....................................................................................................331
11.2.
Work with Raster Images ............................................................................340
12.
Layout, Plot, and Publish Drawings .................................................................349
12.1.
Create Mul
tiple-View Drawing Layouts .........................................................349
12.2.
Plot Drawings............................................................................................368
12.3.
Publish Drawings .......................................................................................388
13.
Share Data with Others ..................................................................................390
13.1.
Save and View Slides ..................................................................................390
13.2.
Link and Embed Data .................................................................................391
13.3.
Work with Data in Other Formats.................................................................401
13.4.
Package Files for Internet Transmission .........................................................405
14.
Programming ZWCAD ....................................................................................410
14.1.
About LISP ................................................................................................410
14.2.
About VBA................................................................................................412
14.3.
About ZRX ................................................................................................413
14.4.
About.NET................................................................................................414
15.
Appendices ...................................................................................................415
Command Name ....................................................................................................415
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System Variable .....................................................................................................434
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1. The User Interface
You can work with the ZWCAD window and its elements in a variety of ways. For example, you can
display and rea
rrange the toolbars, display the command bar, and enable the status bar. The toolbars and
command bar can also be floated anywhere on the screen or docked to the edges of the main ZWCAD
window. You can customize the menu bar at the top of the window.
The following contents include:
•
The Application Menu
•
•
The Ribbon
Quick Access Toolbar
•
•
Menus and Shortcut Menus
Toolbars
•
•
The Command Window
Dynamic Input
•
Customize the Drawing Environment
1.1. The Application Menu
Click the Application button to search for commands and have an access to tools used for creating,
opening and publishing a file.
1.1.1.
Search for commands
Provide tools used for searching for commands quickly. You can search for commands on the Quick
Access toolbar, in the application menu, and on the ribbon. The search results will be directly displayed
in the application menu. You can enter any language for searching.
Input Zoom to check the matched word In the Application Menu
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1.1.2.
Access frequently used tools
The frequently used buttons in the application menu include those common tools used for starting or
publishing a file, such as: New, Open, Etransmit, Save, Save as, Plot, Plot Preview, Close, Options, etc.
NOTE You can close ZWCAD by double-clicking the Application button.
1.1.3.
Browse files
View the Recent Documents and Opened Documents lists, or view the thumbnail of an opened file.
Browse files with Recent or Opened Documents buttons
You can sort the recently used files by the following four ways in the Recent Documents.
•
By Ordered List
•
•
By Access Data
By Size
• By Type
You can display the list of the opened files by using the Large Icons and Small Icons in the Opened
Documents, or you can display the thumbnails of currently opened files by using the Large Images and
Small Images.
NOTE Only saved files can be displayed in the Opened Documents list.
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1.2. The Ribbon
1.2.1.
Tabs and P
anels
Under the 2D Drafting&Annotation working space, ribbon will be displayed when you open a file,
providing a tool desired for creating and modifying drawings. The ribbon consists of several panels,
which are organized into each tab according to their task label. The tools and controls in each panel are
also available in toolbars and dialog boxes.
If you click the arrow in the lower right corner of the panel, a dialog box related to this panel will be
opened. On the panel, multiple radio buttons can be collapsed into a single button. If you click the arrow
on the right or at the bottom of the button, all tool buttons in the list will be displayed in a drop-down
method. If you click the button in the list, the previous button will be replaced by this button.
Click to launch a dialog box
Radio buttons
The Ribbon tabs and panels
1.2.2.
Contextual tabs
When you execute some commands or choose objects of a certain type, a special contextual ribbon tab
is displayed in the Ribbon in
terface instead of a toolbar or dialog box in the Classic interface. When you
end the command, the contextual tab is closed.
External Reference contextual ribbon tab
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1.2.3.
Switch between Ribbon and Classic menu
Users can easily switch between the ribbon and classic menus through the button
in the status bar
at the bottom of the platform. The task-based workspace 2D Drafting & Annotation is defined by default
in ZWCAD 2020.
1.3. Quick Access Toolbar
Display the buttons of nine frequently used tools, which are: New, Open, Save, Save As, Plot, Plot
Preview, Undo, Redo and Help. And the workspace switch drop-down list.
Quick Access Toolbar
1.4. Menus and Shortcut Menus
1.4.1.
Menus
You can use any of the options on the menu bar at the top of the ZWCAD drawing area in the Classic
interface. To press Alt and the Key for the underlined letter in the menu name to open the corresponding
menu item list, and then choose menu items from it.
For example, to edit the
drawing file, press to open the Edit menu.
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Menus
1.4.2.
Shortcut Menus
Shortcut menus provide quick access to specific commands. A shortcut menu displays when you rightclick an object, toolbar, status bar, the Model tab name, or a Layout tab name. The selections presented
in the shortcut menu depend on what you clicked.
When you right-click a toolbar, the program displays a shortcut menu that lets you toggle the toolbars on
and off. If you select one or more objects and then right click, the program displays a shortcut menu from
which you can choose a command to modify the selected objects.
Shortcut menus for toolbars
Shortcut menus for entities
To quickly access the relevant commands currently performed, you can right-click on a different area on
the drawing window to display the different shortcut menu, with the shortcut menu you can speed up the
access.
To display a shortcut menu from which you can choose an object snap and track, press and hol
d down
the Shift key, and then right-click anywhere within the drawing window.
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Shift + right-click to display shortcut menus for snapping
1.4.3.
Last Input
"Last Input" option is used for recording the recent manipulations, from the Last Input list on right click
menu, you can view the latest manipulations as well as the previous command options, and also
manipulate commands by directly selecting from the last input list.
Last Input shortcut menus
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1.5. Toolbars
Toolbars partially contain buttons that start commands. When you move your mouse or pointing device
over a toolbar button, the tooltip displays the name of the button. The Standard toolbar at the top of the
drawing area is similar to that found in Microsoft® Office programs. It contains commonly used
ZWCAD commands such as COPY, PAN and ZOOM, as well as Microsoft Office standard commands
such as New, Open, and Save.
Standard toolbar
The ZWCAD classic menu initially displays s
everal other toolbars by default:
•
•
Properties toolbar
Styles toolbar
•
•
Modify toolbar
Draw toolbar
•
Layers toolbar
The default toolbars
You can display or hide these toolbars and additional ones. Using CUSTOMIZE command, you can also
create your own toolbars. You can move the floating command window anywhere on the screen and
resize its width and height with the pointing device. Dock the command window by dragging it until it
is over the top or bottom docking region of the ZWCAD window, but you can't change its size.
1.5.1.
Displaying and hiding toolbars
When you start ZWCAD classic interface at the first time, multiple toolbars are displayed. ZWCAD
provides more than a dozen toolbars, which you can customize by adding and deleting tools in both
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ZWCAD User Guide
classic and ribbon interfaces. You can also move and resize toolbars, and you can create new toolbars.
You can use a shortcut menu to display or hide toolbars.
To choose which toolbars to displa
y
1. Execute TOOLBAR command to open the Select Toolbars dialog box.
2. Choose the toolbars you want to display, and then click OK.
TIP Right-click anywhere on a docked toolbar to display the toolbar shortcut menu, and then
choose Toolbars.
1.6. The Command Window
The command bar is a dockable window in which you can type ZWCAD commands and view prompts
and other program messages. You can move the command bar by dragging it. When the command bar is
floating, you can drag the top or bottom of the window to change the number of lines of text it displays.
You can dock the command bar at the top or bottom of the drawing.
Displaying and hiding the command line window
1. Please choose Tools->Command Line
Tools->Palettes->Command Line on the ribbon.
in
Classic
interface
or
2. You can execute COMMANDLINE/COMMANDLINEHIDE command to display or
hide the command line in both classic and ribbon interfaces.
3. Press ‘Ctrl’+’9’ to display or hide it
Displaying and hiding the command li
ne
1.6.1.
Enter Commands on the Command Line
Type the full command name on the command line and press ENTER or SPACEBAR. Some commands
also have abbreviated names. Abbreviated command names are called command aliases.
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ZWCAD User Guide
Specify Command Options
Once you have entered a command on the command line, ZWCAD displays either a set of options or a
dialog box. To choose a different option, enter one of the options in the brackets (either uppercase or
lowercase letter is OK), and then press ENTER or SPACEBAR.
Execute Commands
To execute commands, press SPACEBAR or ENTER, or right-click your pointing device when the
command names have been entered or responsive to prompts.
Enter and execute commands
Repeat and Cancel Commands
If you want to repeat a command that you have just used, press ENTER or SPACEBAR, or right-click
the drawing.
Nesting a command
If you are working in the command bar, you can use another command from within a command, called
nesting. This kind of
command is also known as a transparent command. To use a command inside an
active command, type an apostrophe before you type the command, such as ‘osnap. You can nest
commands indefinitely in ZWCAD. Many menu and toolbar macros work this way by default, such as
snap. When you have finished with the nested command, the original command res umes.
For example, you turn on the object snap while you are drawing a circle, thus you can setup Object snap
mode before continuing drawing.
Command: CIRCLE
Specify the center point of circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tangency tangency radius)]: 'osnap
Resuming command: CIRCLE
Specify the center point of circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tangency tangency radius)]:
Specify circle radius or [Diameter]:
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1.6.2.
Enter System Variables on the Command Line
System variables are available for controlling how certain commands work. For example, GRIDMODE
is used to control the status ON or OFF for “GRID” mode; sometimes you use a system variable in o
rder
to change a setting. System variable can be used to display the current status as well.
1.6.3.
Edit Within the Command Window
Navigating and Editing Within the Command Window
The standard keys below are provided for navigating and editing text in the command window to correct
or repeat commands.
•
UP ARROW (↑), DOWN ARROW (↓), LEFT ARROW (←) and RIGHT ARROW (→)
•
•
INS (Insert), DEL (Delete)
PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN
• HOME, END
• BACKSPACE
Using UP ARROW (↑), DOWN ARROW (↓) and pressing ENTER, you can repeat any command used
in the current session by cycling through the commands in the command window.
By default, pressing CTRL+C copies highlighted text to the Clipboard. Pressing CTRL+V pastes text
from the Clipboard to the text window or the command window.
If you right-click on the command window or text window, ZWCAD displays a shortcut menu from
which you can copy selected text or the entire command history, select those recently used commands,
paste text
, and access the Options dialog box of the Command window.
Right click on the command line
In general, a command line with two or three lines of previous prompts is given to several commands,
called the command history, which is sufficient for viewing and editing. To see more than one line of
command history, you can scroll through the history or resize the command window by d ragging its
border upwards, or you can press F2 to use the text window.
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ZWCAD User Guide
Command text window
The text window is a window similar to the command window in which you can enter commands and
view prompts and messages. With a complete command history for the current ZWCAD session
displayed, the text window can be used to view the lengthy output of commands such as LIST, which
displays detailed information about objects you select.
Docking and Resizing the Command Window
By default, the command window is docked. The docked command window is the same width as the
ZWCAD window. You can resize t
he window vertically by dragging the splitter bar, which is located on
the top edge of the window when it is docked on the bottom and at the bottom edge of the window when
it is docked at the top. Undock the command window by dragging it away from the docking region.
When you undock the window, the floating window is the size it was before. You can move the floating
command window anywhere on the screen and resize its width and height with the pointing device. Dock
the command window by dragging it until it is over the top or bottom docking region of the ZWCAD
window.
Modifying a Command
If you are working in the command bar, there are several ways that you can modify a command as you
work. You can modify the active command using any of the following options:
•
Object snaps — Type an object snap command, such as nearest or midpoint, to enable a onetime object snap for a single selection. You can also use a one-time object snap to override a
running object snap.
•
Extension sn
aps — Type int after selecting a command, such as Line or Circle, to enable a onetime snap to the logical location where two objects would intersect if they were of infinite length.
Type app to enable a similar one time snap if the extensions would not intersect in threedimensional space but would intersect in the current view.
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Using the Prompt History Window
The Prompt History window displays a history of the commands and prompts issued since you started
the current session of ZWCAD. By default, the program tracks up to 256 command lines.
There is no limit to the number of command lines you can track, but program performance may be
degraded if you choose to track an excessively high number of lines.
•
To display or close the Prompt History window: Press F2.
•
To view entries in the Prompt History window, do one of the following:
o Drag the scroll bars.
o
•
Use the Up (↑) and Down (↓) arrows to display previously used commands.
To copy or paste
text in the Prompt History window, do one of the following to get the text field
that you want:
o Highlight text using your mouse.
o
o
Press Ctrl + Shift + arrow keys to highlight the desired text.
Right-click and choose whether to copy or paste in the pop-up shortcut menu.
TIP You can also copy the entire command history by choosing Copy History.
1.6.4.
Switch between Dialog Boxes and the Command Line
Some functions are both provided similarly though the command line and from a dialog box. In many
cases, you can enter a hyphen in front of the command to suppress the dialog box and display prompts
on the command line instead.
For example, entering LINETYPE on the command line displays the Linetype Manager. Entering LINETYPE on the command line displays the equivalent command line options. There may be tiny
differences between the options in the dialog box and those available on the command line.
The system variables below affect the display of dialog boxes as well:
•
•
ATTDIA
controls whether INSERT uses a dialog box for attribute value entry.
EXPERT controls whether certain warning dialog boxes are displayed.
•
FILEDIA controls the display of dialog boxes used with commands that read and write files.
For example, if FILEDIA is set to 1, OPEN displays the Open Drawing As dialog box. If
FILEDIA is set to 0, OPEN displays prompt on the command line. Even when you set FILEDIA
to 0, you can get a file dialog box displayed by entering a tilde (~) at the first prompt.
1.7. Dynamic Input
Dynamic input provides a command tooltips box near the cursor. It provides another method to enter
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ZWCAD User Guide
commands and system variables. The tooltips box will automatically update information near the cursor.
1.7.1.
Enable or Disable Dynamic Input
The function is composed of three sub-functions: Pointer input, Dimension input, and Dynamic prompt.
On the status bar, right-click the Dynamic input button (
) and select Settings to display the Drafting
Setti
ngs dialog box, through which you can individually the three functional units in Dynamic Input tab.
Click the Dynamic input button on the status bar or press F12 key to temporarily enable or disable
dynamic input.
Dynamic Input in Drafting Settings
1.7.2.
Pointer Input
Enable pointer input, and the coordinate where the lhair located is displayed in the tooltip next to the
cursor. When the command prompts to specify the second point or next point, you can directly input at
the cursor position.
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Pointer input
By default, the pointer input is displayed and inputting with the polar format and relative coordinates.
Use Pointer Input Settings to determine whether the coordinate is displayed in polar format or Cartesian
format, with relative or absolute coordinate. You can also switch between polar format and Cartesian
format with an angel symbol(<) or a comma(,), switch between relative coordinate and absolute
coordinate with a pound sign(#) or an at sign(@).
1.7
.3.
Dimension Input
Enable dimension input, when the command prompts to specify the second point, a distance and angel
dimension input is displayed in the tooltip.
Dimension input
When using grip editing to stretch an object, the available dimension input includes:
•
Resulting Dimension
•
•
Angel Change
Length Change
•
•
Arc Radius
Absolute Angel
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ZWCAD User Guide
A:Resulting Dimension; B:Angle Change; C:Length Change; D:Absolute Angle
You can switch between these dimension fields with the TAB key. If only some of the dimension fields
are needed, you can set it in Dimension Input Settings.
For dimension input, after entering one field and press TAB key, if there still other fields to be specified,
a sign will be displayed behind the one already entered, and the cursor is constrained to move in a
specified range. As shown below, after specifying the angle field, the endpoint of the line is limited to
move in the direction of 45 degrees.
Angle field is
locked
1.7.4.
Dynamic Prompt
Enable dynamic prompt, the command prompt is displayed near the cursor, and you can respond at the
cursor just as that on the command line. Dynamic prompt has no effect on command line input, you can
still response and input on the command line. When using dynamic input, press Down key to see the
options in command prompt, and a black dot is displayed in front of the selected option, and you can
input it by press ENTER key.
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ZWCAD User Guide
1.8. Customize the Drawing Environment
In ZWCAD, many elements of the working environment can be customized to fit your needs.
1.8.1.
Set Interface Options
In the Options dialog box, you can change many of the settings that affect the ZWCAD interface and
drawing environment.
Settings of modifying the interface
•
Automatic Save (Open and Save tab) — Save your drawing at specified time intervals. To use
this option, in the Options dialog box, Open and Save tab, select Automatic Save and enter the
interva
l in minutes.
•
•
Color Scheme (Display tab): Change interface theme from dark to light.
Color (Display tab) — Specify the background colors used in the layout and Model tabs and the
color used for prompts and crosshairs.
•
Grip color (Selection tab): Change color of different types of grip.
•
Font (Display tab) — Change the fonts used in the ZWCAD window and in the text window.
This setting does not affect the text in your drawings.
•
Search Path (Files tab) — Set the search path ZWCAD uses to find drawing support files such
as text fonts, drawings, linetypes, and hatch patterns.
Controlling size and position of each toolbar or window
After starting ZWCAD, you can fix or adjust position and size of each toolbar or window by dragging.
Software interface includes toolbar, command window, "Properties" palette, "Quick Calculator" window,
"Design Center" window, and so on.
Toolbars can be floating or fixed. The floating toolbar locates in an arbitrary location of t
he drawing area
of ZWCAD window, can be dragged to its new location, adjust its size or fixed. Fixed toolbar attaches
to any of the edges in the drawing area. Once the toolbar is fixed, its size can't be adjusted. You can
remove the fixed toolbar by dragging it to a new fixing position.
When dragging the command window, "Properties" palette and "DesignCenter" window, buoys will be
displayed in the corners and center position of the drawing area. If not select buoys but dragging the
selected window to an arbitrary position of the drawing area, the window will be on floating state, which
users can adjust the size of the window based on the actual needs. When clicking on one of the anchored
floats in the process of dragging, the location of the window will be fixed to the top, bottom and left side
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ZWCAD User Guide
or right side of a fixed region of ZWCAD window. At this time, the size of the window can be adjusted
in only one direction.
Displaying commands on a shortcut menu
Shortc
ut menus provide quick access to specific commands. A shortcut menu displays when you rightclick an object, toolbar, status bar, the Model tab name, or a Layout tab name. The selections presented
in the shortcut menu depend on what you clicked.
When you right-click a toolbar, the program displays a shortcut menu that lets you toggle the command
bar, status bar, and various toolbars on and off. If you s elect one or more objects and then right click, the
program displays a shortcut menu from which you can choose a command to modify the selected objects.
To display a shortcut menu from which you can choose an object snap, press and hold down the Shift
key, and then right-click anywhere within the drawing window.
Using the command bar
The command bar is a dockable window in which you type ZWCAD commands and view prompts and
other program messages. To display the command bar, choose Tools > Command Line. You can move
the command bar by way of dragging.
When the command bar is floating, yo
u can drag the top or bottom of the window to change the number
of lines of text it displays. You can dock the command bar at the top or bottom of the drawing.
Using the status bar
If you elect not to use the command bar, the status bar displays information about the selected command
or tool. It also displays the current cursor coordinates, mode settings, and other information about current
settings.
In addition to displaying information, the status bar is a quick way to access many features.
You can click status bar items to make changes, and right click items to display shortcut menus that allow
you more choices.
Status bar
From left to right :
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ZWCAD User Guide
1. Cursor Coordinates (x,y,z).
2. Snap Mode.
3. Grid Display.
4. Ortho Mode.
5. Polar Tracking.
6. Object Snap.
7. Object Snap Tracking.
8. Dynamic UCS.
9. Dynamic input.
10. Show/Hide Lineweight.
11. Cycle select.
12. Model or Paper space.
1.8.2.
Save and Restore Profiles
Creating profiles for different users or p
rojects and sharing profiles by importing and exporting profile
files are enabled in ZWCAD.
By default, your current options are stored in a profile named Default. The current profile name, as well
as the current drawing name, is displayed in the Options dialog box in ZWCAD.
ZWCAD stores the profile information in the system registry and saves it as a text file (an ARG file).
ZWCAD also organizes essential data and maintains changes in the registry as required. If you make
changes to your current profile during a ZWCAD session and you want to save those changes in the ARG
file, you must export the profile. When you export the profile with the current profile name, ZWCAD
updates the ARG file with the new settings. You can re-import the profile into ZWCAD to update your
profile settings.
1.8.3.
Customization for User Interface
Abundant customization is provided for users included following elements:
Workspaces
Quick Access Toolbars
Ribbon
Toolbar
Menus
Sho
rtcut Menus
Keyboard Shortcuts
LISP Files
Partial Customization Files
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ZWCAD User Guide
Input ‘CUI’ command to access the Customize User Interface and make relevant modification base on
user’s preference. For example customize a brand new toolbar only with functions you need, changeicon
of a function, add or reduce features on the ribbon.
2. Create and Save a Drawing
2.1. Create a New Drawing
When the system variables FILEDIA and STARTUP are set to 1, typing NEW opens New Drawing dialog
box, from which you can use Default Setting, Template or Wizard to create a new drawing.
A new drawing dialog box
When the FILEDIA and STARTUP are set to 1 and 0 separately, typing NEW opens Select Template
dialog box, from which you can select the desired one or use the default template by clicking the
AIDIMFLIPARROW head button next to the Open button.
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ZWCAD User Guide
Select template file dialog box
The default drawing template file can be set in the Template Dra
wing File Path from the Files tab in the
Options dialog box.
Template drawing file path
2.1.1.
Start a Drawing from Scratch
You can select either imperial or metric units for the new drawing if you choose Start from Scratch in
the New Drawing dialog box. The setting you select determines default values which are used for many
system variables controlling text, dimensions, grid, snap, and the default linetype and hatch pattern file.
•
Imperial. A new drawing with the imperial measurement system. The drawing uses internal
default values, and the default boundary is 12 × 9 inches.
•
Metric. A new drawing with the metric measurement system. The drawing uses internal default
values, and the default boundary is 420 × 297 millimeters.
When you start ZWCAD, there are three options for choosing to draw. You can start from scratch using
default settings, you can start from a template file with a preset environment, or you can use a wizard to
step you through the process, in each ca
se, you can choose the conventions and defaults you want to use.
To start a drawing from scratch
1. On the File menu, click New. (STARTUP=1)
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ZWCAD User Guide
2. In the New Drawing dialog box, click Default Settings.
3. Under Default Settings, click either English (feet and inches) or Metric.
2.1.2.
Use a Setup Wizard
From the New Drawing dialog box, you can select "Use a SetupWizard" tab to create a new drawing by
the wizard. There are two wizard options illuminated as follows:
•
Advanced Setup Wizard
From this option, you can set units of measurement, the precision of displayed units, and grid
limits. Also specify angle settings such as units of measurement style, precision, direction, and
orientation based on template zwcadiso.dwt.
•
Quick Setup Wizard
From this option, you can specify units of measurement, the precision of displayed units, and
grid limits based on template zwcadiso.dwt.
To begin a new drawing using a wizard
1. On the File menu, click New.
2. In the
New Drawing dialog box, click Use a Setup Wizard.
3. Click Quick Setup Wizard or Advanced Setup Wizard.
4. Complete the wizard pages using the Next and Back buttons to move forward and
backward.
5. On the last page, click Finish.
2.1.3.
Use a Template File
Drawing template files contain standard settings and have a ".dwt" file extension. There are two methods
provided for creating a new drawing when the system variable FILEDIA is set to 1. When the STARTUP
is set to 1, typing NEW opens New Drawing dialog box, from which you can select the desired template
to create a new drawing if you click Use a Template tab.
When the STARTUP is set to 0, typing NEW opens Select Template dialog box, from which you can
select the desired template to create a new drawing.
The changes made to a new drawing based on an existing template file do not affect the template file.
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ZWCAD User Guide
Create a Drawing Template File
When you need to create several drawings with the default settings, you c
an save time by creating a
template file designed to create the same drawing files so that you do not need to specify default settings
each time you start. Conventions and settings commonly stored in template files include:
•
Unit type and precision
•
•
Title blocks, borders, and logos
Layer names
•
•
Snap, Grid, and Ortho settings
Grid limits
•
•
Dimension styles
Text styles
•
Linetypes
Recover the default drawing template file
If you have changed the settings in the template file zwcad.dwt or zwcadiso.dwt, you can reset them by
creating a new drawing with no template and then saving the drawing as a drawing template file in order
to replace zwcad.dwt or zwcadiso.dwt.
When the STARTUP is set to 0, you can also create a new drawing with the original default s by clicking
the arrowhead next to the Open button to select one of the No Template options from the Select Template
dialog box.
To start a drawing by selecting a template file
1. On the File menu, click
New.
2. In the Select Template File dialog box, select a template from the list and click Open.
3. ZWCAD opens the drawing as drawing1.dwg. The default drawing name changes to
reflect the number of new drawings that have been opened. For example, if you
open another drawing from a template, the default drawing name is drawing2.dwg.
2.2. Open an Existing Drawing
You can open drawing (.dwg) files, Drawing Exchange Format (.dxf) files and drawing template (.dwt)
files. You can also open and check drawings that you suspect are damaged.
To open an existing drawing
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ZWCAD User Guide
1. On the File menu, click Open.
2. In Files of Type, choose the type of file you want to open.
3. Choose the folder containing the desired file.
4. Choose the drawing you want to open, and then click Open. Or double-click the
drawing you want to open.
TIP You can also open drawings while browsing files on your computer using programs that came with
your operating systems, such as Windows File Explorer or
My Computer. Just double-click the file to
get it open in ZWCAD. Easily find the drawing you want by viewing thumbnail images of the drawing
files as you browse them.
TIP To quickly open a drawing file that you recently used, choose File > from the main
menu.
2.2.1.
Find and Open a Drawing File
You can search for a drawing using the name, location, and date filters or properties such as keywords
that you added to the drawing.
Open drawing
Uses Open on the File menu or Standard toolbar to open Select File dialog box, from which you can
select the desired file. You can also open a drawing by dragging a drawing into anywhere outside(apart
from) the drawing area. However, if you drag a drawing into the drawing area of an open drawing, the
new drawing is inserted into the open drawing as a block reference instead of opening it.
You can also double-click drawing to launch ZWCAD program to open it. If ZWCAD is running, the
drawing opens in the current session.
Change the de
fault drawing folder
Each time you launch ZWCAD, the path you specified to open the latest drawing is displayed in each
standard file selection dialog box. You can also specify a default path to ZWCAD by changing the default
drawing folder.
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ZWCAD User Guide
Find a drawing file
Clicking Tools > Find button from the Select File dialog box displays Find dialog box, from which you
can search drawing by name, location and date filters.
You can preview the selected drawing in the Select File dialog box. When the system variable
RASTERPREVIEW is on, a preview image with BMP format is generated and saved with the drawing.
op
Set the search path
The Files tab of Options dialog box is used by ZWCAD to search drawing support files. The support
files include text fonts, drawings, linetypes and hatch patterns. The system variable
MYDOCUMENTSPREFIX is designed to store the location of My Documents folder for the current
user.
You can also specify the location of temporary files on the Files
tab of the Options dialog box. Temporary
files are created on the specified path and then deleted when you exit ZWCAD program. The default
temporary folder is specified for the location that Microsoft Windows uses.
You should specify another location for temporary files when you run ZWCAD in a write-protected
director (for example, if you are working on a network or open files on a CD). The director must not be
written-protected and can provide enough disk space for the temporary files.
Add identifying information to drawings
You can find the specified drawings more easily by adding keywords or other information to them in the
Drawing Properties dialog box opened from the File menu. The drawing properties such as title, author,
subject, keyword or other important information can help identify drawings more easily. You can also
assign hyperlink addresses and multiple custom properties to your drawings.
The Drawing Properties dialog box contains the following drawing information:
•
G
eneral. It contains the drawing type, location, size and other information. This information is
stored by the operating system and can be read-only. You can change these values only through
Windows Explorer.
•
•
Summary. This tap contains the drawing properties such as author, title, and subject.
Statistics. The drawing size, created date and latest modified date and other information are
displayed in this tap.
•
Custom. Specifies the custom file properties.
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ZWCAD User Guide
2.2.2.
Work with Multiple Open Drawings
You can open multiple drawings at one time in ZWCAD. There are several methods for switching a
drawing to another.
•
Acting the drawing by clicking it.
•
•
Uses shortcut keys of or .
You can change the display styles to Cascade, Tile Vertically or Tile Horizontally from the
Window menu. You can also use Arrange Icons to align icons if there are several minimum
drawings.
•
You can quickly reference other drawings to copy and
paste between drawings. You can also
use Match command to copy properties from objects in one drawing to objects in another
drawing. Object snaps, the Copy with Basepoint (COPYBASE) command, and the Paste to
Original Coordinates (PASTEORIG) command is used to ensure accurate placement, especially
when copying objects from one drawing to another.
2.2.3.
Recover a Damaged File
You can recover some or all of data by reverting to a backup file or using commands to find and correct
errors if a drawing file is damaged. A drawing file may be damaged by a hardware failure, power outage,
and system crash. You can minimize loss by saving files frequently.
ZWCAD can recover a slightly damaged drawing file while opening it.
If a drawing is damaged, you can use RECOVER command to check and attempt to open it. Then uses
AUDIT command to find and correct errors.
Though ZWCAD can recover a damaged drawing file, it is not sure that the recovery drawing is the same
exactly as the original one. You ha
d better create a backup file if the drawing is important. On the Open
and Save tab of Options dialog box, you can specify the backup file are created when you save drawings
and set the proper interval time for saving. Then a backup copy file with a ".bak" extension is created
when you save the named drawing once again. After that, a backup file is always updated while you
executing the command SAVE or SAVEAS.
If ZWCAD exits unexpectedly, it attempts to rename the current backup file in order to avoid covering
the original one.
You can recover a drawing file by saving a ".bak" file to a ".dwg" file.
Files can become damaged for many reasons. For example, if you are working on a drawing during a
power outage, a system crash, or a hardware failure, your drawing file may become damaged. ZWCAD
allows you to open and check damaged files to attempt file recovery.
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ZWCAD User Guide
Recovering a file attempts to open one of the following file types:
•
Standard drawing files with a ".dw
g" extension.
• Drawing Exchange Format files with a ".dxf" file extension.
• Drawing templates with a ".dwt" file extension.
You can also audit any open file to check it for errors. You specify whether you want ZWCAD to fix any
errors that are found automatically. ZWCAD fixes as many errors as possible and any errors that cannot
be fixed are reported as "Ignored" in the Prompt History window.
To open a damaged file
1. Choose File > Drawing Utilities > Recover from the main menu
2. In Files of Type, choose the type of file you want to recover.
3. Choose the directory containing the damaged file.
4. Choose the damaged file you want to recover.
5. Click Open.
To check errors for a drawing file
1. To choose from the opened drawing, click on File > Drawing Utilities > Audit from
the main menu.
2. Input Y or N to determine whether to fix the errors that are automatically found by
ZWCAD.
Drawing Recovery
Once terminated by hardware problems, power failure or software problems, the ap
plication is capable
of backup the opened drawing file. At the next startup, the program starts "Drawing Recovery" manager
in which all of the auto-backup drawing files that have been closed accidentally will be displayed. You
can open the file of your demand by double-clicking at the Backup File list on the "Drawing Recovery"
if there is any damage to the file, the system attempts to recover the drawing in process of backup.
When program or system stopped by accident, the drawing files need to recover are sorted into the
following types.
•
Recovered drawing file saved when the program fails (DWG)
•
•
Autosaved file, so-called "auto-save" file (zw$)
Backup file (BAK)
•
Source drawing file (DWG)
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2.3. Save a Drawing
You save drawing files for later use just as you do with other Microsoft Windows applications. You can
also set up automatic saving and backup files and save only selected objects.
The file extension for drawing files is ".dwg", and unless
you change the default file format in which
drawings are saved, drawings are saved in DWG 2013 file format.
After you have saved your drawing for the first time, you can save it with a new name. In addition to
drawing (.dwg) files, you can also save a drawing in a Drawing Exchange Format (.dxf) file or a drawing
template (.dwt) file.
If you created your drawing using a template, saving the drawing does not alter the original template.
To save a drawing
1. Choose File > Save from the main menu.
TIP
1. When you save a drawing the first time, the program displays the Save Drawing As dialog box so that
you can choose a directory and type a name for the drawing.
2. DWG 2018 format is perfectly compatible with ZWCAD now.
2.3.1.
Save Your Drawing Automatically
You can specify to save drawing files automatically in order to minimize the lost data once a problem
occurs.
If you start the automatic save option, your drawing is saved at specified time intervals. By default,
system assigned t
he name filename.zw$ for temporarily saved files, filename here refers to current
drawing name.
The temporary files are removed automatically when a drawing closes normally. However, these files
are not deleted if there is a program failure or power failure. You can recover the drawing by reverting
to a previous version of your drawing from the automatically saved file. In order to do that, you have to
rename the file using a ".dwg" extension.
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ZWCAD User Guide
2.3.2.
Use Backup Files
ZWCAD creates a backup file with the current drawing name and a ".bak" extension to save the previous
version of the current drawing when launching "backup automatically" option.
You can revert to the previous version of your drawing anytime using a ".dwg" extension in place of
the .zw$ extension.
2.3.3.
Save Part of a Drawing File
You can use WBLOCK command to create a new drawing from part of an existing drawing. You can
select entities or a block definition in your current drawing and save t
hem in a new drawing file. The
description also can be saved in the new drawing.
2.3.4.
Save to a Different Type of Drawing File
Choose the format from Files Type in the Save Drawing As dialog box, you can save a drawing to an
earlier version of the drawing format (DWG) or drawing interchange format (DXF), or save a drawing
as a template file.
You can save a drawing with a new name and in any of the following file formats:
•
Standard drawing files with a ".dwg" extension. You can choose a DWG file format that is
compatible with various versions of AutoCAD.
•
Drawing Exchange Format files with a ".dxf" file extension. You can choose a DXF file format
that is compatible with various versions of AutoCAD.
•
Drawing templates with a ".dwt" file extension. Drawing templates allow you to easily create
new drawings that reuse your drawing settings and entities.
To save a drawing with a new name or file format
1. Choose File > Save As from the main menu.
2. In the Save Drawing As
dialog box, under Files of Type, choose the file format.
3. Specify the name of the file you want to create.
4. Click Save.
TIP You can also export drawing files to various file formats.
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ZWCAD User Guide
2.3.5.
Reduce the Time Required to Save a Drawing File
In order to reduce the time of saving a drawing file, you can specify the incremental save percentage on
the Open and Save tab of Options dialog box or from the ISAVEPERCENT system variable.
The incremental save updates only the portions of the saved drawing file you changed. Drawing files
will contain a percentage of potentially wasted space when you use incremental saves. This percentage
increases after each incremental save until it reaches the specified maximum value, and then a full save
is performed.
When the ISAVEPERCENT system variable is set to 0, all saves are full saves. This option required
more time to save a drawing file but can reduce the size of drawing files. It is recommended you perform
a full save befo
re transmitting or archiving a drawing.
2.4. Crash Report
An error report module will intercept any unhandled exception generated by ZWCAD, build a complete
debug report, and optionally send a crash report.
Sending crash report may help assess the stability of ZWCAD software while working in the user
environment, and improve the quality of our product. When errors are encountered in the procedure of
some programs, a dialog box pops up for the user to record the cause of the error and send crash report
automatically created by the software to the assigned email address so as to help us diagnose the cause
of the error and improve our software.
Once the software encounters exceptional shutdown, a folder named BugReport will be automatically
generated
under
the
catalog
C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\ZWSoft\ZWCAD\\\CrashReport. If your operating
system is Microsoft Windows 7, the catalog will be X:\Documents and Settings\Current
User\Application Data\CrashReport
.
One more thing, if your operating system is Microsoft Windows XP, in which all of the compressed
packages generated for the exceptional situations are contained with *.ZCR, *.DMP, *.REG as well as
error drawing files included in each package. Here DMP file shares the same name with the compressed
package automatically generated.
2.4.1.
Describe Error Contents
When errors occur in the program, a dialog box prompts "ZWCAD.EXE has encountered a problem and
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ZWCAD User Guide
needs to close, we are sorry for the inconveniences" for the user to input descriptions of the problem in
the text window showing "Describe what you were doing when the error occurred", whereas it is an
optional requirement.
2.4.2.
View Contents of Error Report Files
Generally, the software generates four error reporting files, individually named as *.ZCR, *.DMP, *.REG
and the crashed drawing file itself. In this error report dialog box, you can see the contents of error reports
by clicking on the "Click h
ere" link. You can optionally select a file in the "Error Report Contents" dialog
box, or double-click a file to view its contents.
2.4.3.
Send Error Report
Clicks on "Send Error Report" button on the Error Reporting dialog box, then you can send the
information of assigned error reports to CrashReport@zwcad.com as well as its problem descriptions.
If the network isn't connecting, a prompt box pops up telling you that "The error report wasn't sent, please
send the file to CrashReport@zwcad.com". From this prompt box, you can see the name of error report
file together with its saving path.
Don't Send
Additionally, the user can choose not to send an error report.
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ZWCAD User Guide
3. Control the Drawing Views
3.1. Redraw and Regenerate a Drawing
As you work on a drawing, visual elements may remain after the completion of a command. You can
remove these elements by refreshing, or redraw, the display.
To redraw (refresh) the current window display
1. Choose View > Redraw from the
main menu.
Information about drawing entities is stored in a database as floating point values, ensuring a high level
of precision. Sometimes a drawing must be recalculated, or regenerated, from the floating point database
to convert those values to the appropriate screen coordinates. This occurs automatically. You can also
manually initiate a regeneration. When the drawing is regenerated, it is also redrawn.
To regenerate the current window, type REGEN on the command line. If more than one window is
displayed, type REGENALL to regenerate all the windows.
3.2. Magnify a View (Zoom)
You can use ZOOM command to zoom in or zoom out the drawing view to meet y our need. ZOOM does
not change the absolute size of objects in the drawing; it changes only the magnification of the view.
With this zooming feature, you can change the magnification of your drawing at any time. The cursor
changes to a magnifying glass when a zoom tool is active. Zoom out to reduce the magnification so you
can see m
ore of the drawing, or zoom in to increase the magnification so you can see a portion of the
drawing in greater detail.
NOTE If you are working in a layout viewport and cannot zoom, the layout viewport may be locked.
The scale and view do not change in model space while panning or zooming in a locked layout viewport.
3.2.1.
Zooming in and out
One of the easiest ways to change the magnification of the drawing is to zoom in or out by a preset
increment. On the Zoom toolbar, the Zoom In tool doubles the current magnification of the drawing. The
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ZWCAD User Guide
Zoom Out tool reduces the magnification of the drawing by half. The portion of the drawing loc ated at
the center of the current viewport remains centered on the screen as you zoom in and out.
Zoom out
3.2.2.
zoom in
Zooming methods
To zoom, you can use any of the following methods:
•
•
To define the portion of the drawing to zoom, create a window.
To zoom in real time, use the Zoom Real-time tool on the Standar
d toolbar.
•
Rotate the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.
Zoom to Magnify a Specified Rectangular Area
You can specify a rectangular area defined by two corners to display the objects within that area as large
as possible.
The lower-left corner of the specified area becomes the lower-left corner of the new view.
Zoom in using Window
To zoom into an area using a window
1. Choose View > Zoom > Window from the main menu.
2. Select one corner of the window around the area you want to magnify.
3. Specify the opposite corner of the window around the area you want to magnify.
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ZWCAD User Guide
Zoom in Real Time
With the Real-time option, you zoom dynamically by moving your pointing device up or down. By rightclicking, you can display a shortcut menu with additional viewing options.
To zoom in real time
1. Choose View > Zoom > Realtime from the main menu.
2. Hold the left mouse button, then drag the cursor.
3. To zoom in, move the cursor up the screen; to zoom out, move the cursor d
own the
screen.
4. To stop zooming, release the mouse button.
To zoom using a mouse with a wheel
1. Rotate the wheel away from you to zoom in or toward you to zoom out.
2. Each rotation of the wheel away from you zooms out .8 times; each rotationtoward
you zooms in 1.25 times.
3.2.3.
Displaying the previous view of a drawing
After you zoom in or pan to view a portion of your drawing in greater detail, you may want to zoom back
out to see the entire drawing. On the View > Zoom menu, the Previous tool lets you restore the previous
view. Selecting this tool repeatedly steps back through up to 25 successive zoomed or panned views.
3.2.4.
Zooming to a specific scale
You can increase or decrease the magnification of your view by a precise scale factor measured relative
to the overall size of the drawing or in relation to the current display. When you change the magnification
factor, the portion of the drawing located at the center of the current viewport remains centered on the
screen
.
To change the magnification of the view relative to the overall size of the drawing, type a number
representing the magnification scale factor. For example, if you type a scale factor of 2, the drawing
appears at twice its original size. If you type a magnification factor of .5, the drawing appears at half its
original size.
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ZWCAD User Guide
You can also change the magnification of the drawing relative to its current magnification by adding an
x after the magnification scale factor. For example, if you type a scale factor of 2x, the drawing changes
to twice its current size. If you type a magnification factor of .5x, the drawing changes to half its current
size.
To zoom to a specific scale relative to the current display
1. Choose View > Zoom > Scale from the main menu. Or
On the Zoom toolbar, click the Zoom Scale. Or
Type ZOOM in the command line, choose the Scale option and then press Enter.
2. Type the scale factor, followed by an x (such as 2x).
3. Press Enter.
3.2.5.
Co
mbining zooming and panning
With the Center option, you can scale objects and specify a new view center. You can specify the scale
factor relative to paper space unit or to the current view.
To change the center of the current view
1. Choose View > Zoom > Center from the main menu.
2. Select the point you want to be located at the center of the new view.
3. Specify the zoom scale factor or the height of the drawing in drawing units.
3.2.6.
Displaying the entire drawing
ZOOM Extents displays a view that includes all of the objects in the drawing as large as possible. The
view can display the objects on layers that are turned off but do not include objects on frozen layers.
ZOOM All displays all of the objects within either the user-defined limits or the drawing extents,
whichever view is larger.
You can use the Zoom All tool on the zoom toolbar to display an entire drawing. If you have drawn any
entities outside the defined limits of the drawing, the extents of the drawing are disp
layed. If you drew
all entities within the limits of the drawing, the drawing is displayed all the way to the drawing limits.
The Zoom Extents tool on the zoom toolbar displays the drawing to its extents, making the image fill the
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ZWCAD User Guide
display to the greatest possible magnification.
3.3. Pan a View
Use PAN command or use the window scroll bars to shift the location of your view.
With the Real-time option of PAN, you pan dynamically by moving your pointing device. Like panning
with a camera, PAN does not change the location or magnification of objects on your drawing; it changes
only the view. By right-clicking, you can display a shortcut menu with additional viewing options.
You can move the view of a drawing displayed in the current viewport by scrolling, panning, or rotating
the view. Doing this changes the portion of the drawing you are viewing without changing the current
magnification. Scrolling lets you move around in the drawing horizontally and vertically. Pa
nning lets
you move the drawing in any direction. Rotating lets you view your drawing from any angle.
3.3.1.
Using scroll bars
To assist you in navigating within a drawing, horizontal and vertical scroll bars are available in each
drawing window. The size of the scroll box in relation to the scroll bar indicates the current level of
drawing magnification. The position of the scroll box in relation to the scroll bar indicates the location
of the center of the drawing in relation to the extents of the drawing (the smallest rectangle containing
all the entities in the drawing).
3.3.2.
Using the Pan command
You can move the drawing in any direction using the pan command. Panning shifts or slides the view of
the drawing horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The magnification of the drawing remains the same,
as does its orientation in space. The only change is the portion of the drawing displayed.
To pan, you can use any of the following methods:
•
For precise panning, specify tw
o points defining the magnitude and direction of the pan. The
first point, or base point, indicates the starting point of the pan. The second point indicates the
amount of pan displacement relative to the first point.
•
•
To pan in real time, use the Pan Real-time tool on the Standard toolbar.
If you have a mouse with a wheel, press and hold the wheel, and then move the mouse.
To pan in real time
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ZWCAD User Guide
1. Choose View > Pan > Realtime from the main menu.
2. Move the cursor in the direction you want to pan.
3. To stop panning, press Enter, ESC or choose Exit from the shortcut menu.
To pan using a mouse with a wheel
1. Press and hold the wheel, and then move the mouse in the direction you want to
pan.
(The MBUTTONPAN system variable controls this feature.)
3.4. Display Multiple Views in Model
Space
Model space viewport is the drawing area that you can divide them into one or more adjacent rectangular
views on the Model tap. Among multiple viewports, you have to
make one view current for executing
view commands.
When you begin a new drawing, it is displayed in a single window. You can view the drawing in a second
window, or you can divide one window into multiple windows. You can also open and display multiple
drawings.
3.4.1.
Set Model Space Viewports
In large or complex drawings, displaying different views reduces the time needed to zoom or pan in a
single view. Also, errors you might miss in one view may be apparent in the others.
Viewports created on the Model tab completely fill the drawing area and do not overlap. As you make
changes in one viewport, the others are updated simultaneously. Three model space viewports are shown
in the illustration.
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ZWCAD User Guide
Model space viewports
Use Model Space Viewports
You can do the following operations at the model space viewport:
•
Set Grid, and UCS icon modes; Pan; Zoom; and restore named views.
•
•
Save orientations of UCS with individual viewports.
When executing a comma
nd, you can draw from one viewport to another.
•
Name a viewport arrangement in order so you can reuse it on the Model tab or insert it on a
layout tab.
•
When you work on 3D models, it is much help that setting up different UCS in individual
viewports.
Split and Join Model Space Viewports
From the separated viewport, you can continue to split or join them.
The illustrations below show several default model space viewport configurations.
Left
Right
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ZWCAD User Guide
Horizontal
Vertical
Above
Below
Select and Use the Current Viewport
To make the desired viewport the current viewport, you click on it through the existing viewports. When
the cursor stays at the current viewport, it is displayed as crosshairs instead of an arrow. You cannot
change the current viewport when a view command is in progress.
Working with Multiple Views of a Single Drawing
You can open and work with several views of the same drawing simultaneously.
After you divide a single window into mult
iple windows, you can control each window separately. For
example, you can zoom or pan in one window without affecting the display in any of the other windows.
You can control the grid, snap, and view orientation separately for each window. You can restore named
views in individual windows, draw from one window to another, an d name window configurations
individually so you can reuse them later.
As you draw, any changes you make in one window are immediately visible in the others. You can switch
from one window to another at any time, even in the middle of a command, by clicking the window's
title bar.
You can divide a single drawing window into multiple tiled windows (called viewports) on the Model
tab. You can control the number of windows created and the arrangement of the windows. You can also
save and restore named window configurations and display a list of the current and saved window
configurations.
To create multiple views
1. Choose View > Viewports from the main menu.
2. In
viewports menu, choose 1, 2, 3, or 4 viewports.
3. Type h if you want the horizontal orientation, or type v if you want the vertical
orientation.
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To join two views
1. Choose View > Viewports > Join from the main menu.
2. Click anywhere inside the window you want to keep.
3. Click anywhere inside the adjacent window you want to join to the first wi ndow.
To restore a named window configuration
1. Type -VPORTS and press ENTER.
2. On the command line, type Restore.
3. Type the name of the window configuration you want to restore.
3.5. Work with Multiple Drawings
With the multiple document interface (MDI) feature, you can open more than one drawing in ZWCAD.
Because you can open and work on several drawings at one time, you can copy, cut, or paste an entity
from one drawing to another.
Each drawing appears in a drawing window, which has the following advantages:
•
•
You can see two or more drawings side by side.
You can easily copy entities from one drawing to
another.
Under the Window menu, the following three methods that determine how drawings are arranged are
provided for user's choice.
•
Cascade
•
•
Tile Horizontally
Tile Vertically
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ZWCAD User Guide
Tile Vertically
When you work with more than one drawing open in its own window, you can easily, cut, copy, and paste
in between drawings. If you copy an entity from one window to another and then want to undo that action,
you must undo it from the drawing into which you copied the entity. If you cut and paste an entity and
then want to undo that action, you must undo it in both drawings.
3.5.1.
Save and Restore Views
You can save views by name and restore them for plotting or when you need to refer to specific details.
A named view is comprised of specific magnification, location, and orientation.
You can also restore up to 10 previous views. When you end drawing, the previous views cannot be
restored. If you want to restore views among sessions, you have to save the d
rawing along with views
by name.
When you restore views, you can view all saved views along with their information. You can delete views
when you do not need them. A drawing can be saved along with unlimited views.
Save a View
When you name and save a view, the following settings are saved:
•
•
Magnification, center point, and view direction
The location of the view: the Model tab or a specific layout tab
•
Layer visibility in the drawing at the time the view is saved
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•
User coordinate system
• 3D perspective and clipping
If you have divided the drawing window into multiple views, you can save the current window
arrangement so that you can recall it to the screen later. The number and placement of the windows are
saved exactly as they are currently displayed. The settings for each window are also saved.
Restore a Named View
With the -VIEW Restore, you can restore a named view to the current view.
Named views can be used to do the following:
•
Restore views on the model space viewport or layout viewport.
• Specify the area to the plot.
• Determined which model space view is displayed when opening the drawing.
You can specify a layout view when you open the drawing only if you save the drawing from that
specified layout tab.
3.6. Specify a 3D View
You can set a 3D view to facilitating verifying the 3D effects of the drawing, constructing and visualizing
3D models.
An isometric view is a typical viewpoint that helps you create a 3D view which reduces the number of
visually overlapping objects. You can specify a new viewpoint to create new objects or modify the
existing objects.
3.6.1.
View a Parallel Projection in 3D
You can view a parallel projection of 3D models at any location in model space.
To determine the angle or viewpoint, you can:
•
Select a preset 3D view from the View toolbar.
•
•
Type angles or coordinate that represents the viewing location in 3D.
Modify a view of the current UCS, the WCS or a s
aved UCS.
•
Change the 3D view dynamically using pointing device.
Viewing 3D model is available only in model space. If you are working in paper space, the 3D viewing
commands such as VPOINT and PLAN cannot be used to define paper space views. The view in paper
space is always a plane view.
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ZWCAD User Guide
The plane view is a view that you look at the origin (0, 0, 0) from a point at the positive Z axis. This
method results in a view of the XY plane. You can restore the view and coordinate system that is the
default for most ZWCAD drawings by setting the UCS orientation to World and then setting 3D views
to Plan View.
3.6.2.
Set the Viewing Direction
You view three-dimensional drawings by setting the viewing direction. The viewing direction establishes
the viewing position, the Cartesian coordinate corresponding to the viewpoint looking back at the origin
point, the 0,0,0 coordinate. When you view a drawing from the default viewpoint (0,0,1), you see a plan
view of the d
rawing.
You can change the viewing direction to look at the drawing from a different vantage point or to work
on a three-dimensional model from a different orientation.
To set a new viewing direction
1. Choose View > 3D Views > Viewpoint from the main menu.
2. Click the preset button.
3. Click the preset view you want to use.
4. You can set the current viewing direction to the plan view of the current user
coordinate system (UCS), a previously saved UCS, or the World Coordinate System
(WCS).
To dynamically set a view direction
1. Choose View > 3D Views > Viewpoint from the main menu.
2. Click the appropriate tools to dynamically change the viewpoint.
3. To complete the command, click OK.
4. You can dynamically rotate the viewpoint within the XY plane and relative to the XY
plane, and you can pan and zoom the drawing. As you change the viewpoint, the
drawing display automatically updates.
To display a plan view of the current drawing
1. Choose View > 3D Views > Plan View from the mai
n menu.
2. It concludes three plan views: Current UCS, World UCS, and Named UCS. Choose
one what you want.
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3.6.3.
Isometric
Choose Preset 3D Views
You can define perspective views of a model to create realistic effects.
Select predefined standard orthographic and isometric views by name or description. These views
represent commonly used options: Top, Bottom, Front, Left, Right, and Back. In addition, you can set
views from isometric options: SW (southwest) Isometric, SE (southeast) Isometric, NE (northeast)
Isometric, and NW (northwest) Isometric.
To understand how the isometric views work, imagine you are looking down at the top of a box. If you
move toward the lower-left corner of the box, you are viewing the box from the SW Isometric View. If
you move toward the upper-left corner of the box, you are viewing it from NW Isometric View.
Draw 2D Isometric Views
With Isometric Snap, you can create 2D objects that appear to be 3D solids.
By setting Isometric Sn
ap on the Draft Settings dialog box and turning on Snap and Grid, you can easily
align objects along one of three isometric planes. However, although the isometric drawing looks like
3D, it is actually a 2D representation. Therefore, you cannot extract distance and areas, display objects
from different viewports, or delete hidden lines automatically.
Set Isometric Grid and Snap
By aligning along three major axes, isometric drawing simulates a 3D drawing from a specified
viewpoint.
When the snap angle is set to 0, the axes of the isometric plane are 30 degrees, 90 degrees, and 150
degrees.
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With Isometric Snap-on, you can work on any of three isometric planes, each with a pair of associated
axes.
•
Left. The left isometric plane defined by a pair of 90- and 150-degrees axes. The snap and grips
align along the 90- and 150-degree axes.
•
Top. The top isometric plane defined by a pair of 30- and 150-degrees axes. The snap and grips
align along the 30- and 150
-degrees axes.
•
Right. The right isometric plane defined by a pair of 90- and 30-degrees axes. The snap and
grips align along the 90- and 30-degrees axes.
In addition to using ISOPLANE command to switch isometric planes, you can also use shortcut key F5
or CTRL+E. specifying one of the three isometric planes results in Ortho and crosshairs to be aligned
along the corresponding isometric axes.
For example, when Ortho is on, the points you specified align along the simulated plane you are working
on. Therefore, you can draw the top plane first, and switch to the left plane to draw another side, and
then switch to the right plane to complete the drawing.
Draw Isometric Circles
You can create an isometric circle on the current isometric plane using Ellipse Isocircle. The Isocircle
option is available only when the Isometric Snap is on.
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3.6.4.
Define a 3D View with Coordinate Values or Angles
You can define a viewing direction by typing the coordinate values
of a point or two rotation angles
(angle from the XY plane and angle from the X-axis).
The specified point indicates your position in 3D space when you view the model while looking toward
the origin (0, 0, 0). The viewpoint coordinate values are relative to the WCS unless you modify the
system variable WORLDVIEW.
The conventions for defining standard views are different among different industries. In architectural
(ARC) design, the perpendicular plane of XY plane is the top view or plan view; in mechanical design,
the perpendicular view is the front view.
DDVPOINT is designed to rotate views to specify a viewing direction.
The following illustration shows a view defined by two angles relative to the X-axis and the XY plane
of the WCS.
3.6.5.
Change a 3D View Dynamically
You can view objects from any viewing direction by holding down the mouse or other pointing devices
and moving dynamically. With dynamic viewing, you can display the effects of changing viewpoint while
you change th
e view.
You can execute move or zoom operations as the 3D Orbit is active.
When the 3D Orbit is active, you are not allowed to modify objects. To close 3D Orbit, press Enter, ESC
or choose Exit from the shortcut menu.
3.6.6.
Hide Lines or Shade 3D Objects
Hides or shapes for 3D objects in the current drawing suppresses the display of the objects (partly or
entirely) that are located behind other objects or generates a simply shaded image displayed in the current
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ZWCAD User Guide
view.
Hide Lines
You can suppress the objects (partly or entirely) that are located behind other objects using Hide.
The system generates wireframe representations including hidden lines when you use VPOINT or VIEW
command to create objects in 3D view. You can use HIDE command to remove the hidden lines to verify
the current placement of these surfaces.
When you view or plot wireframes, complex drawings usually appear too cluttered to convey accurate
information.
Hiding background objects that in real
ity would be obscured by objects in the front background simplifies
the display of the drawing and clarifies the design. Shown in the following picture:
Before hide
Hide
Hiding background lines makes the display much clearer, but you cannot modify hidden-line or render
views. It may take a long time to calculate and obscure hidden lines if the drawing is complex. However,
you can speed up the process in the several ways. For example, you can avoid drawing details that will
not be visible at the scale at which you are displaying or plotting the drawing. You can also exclude
objects from the hiring process by zooming into a part of the drawing.
Remove hidden lines on one or more selected objects to improve performance.
When the system variable DISPSILH is set to 1, HIDE command displays only the silhouette lines of the
objects. It does not display the inside edges generated by a nested face of an object.
When the current view is shaded, hiding lines on solid objects also suppresses dr
awing the mesh image
and instead displays the objects using wireframe representation with the back lines hidden.
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ZWCAD User Guide
Add Simple Shading to 3D Objects
Although hiding lines can enhance the drawing and clarifies the design, shading produces a more realistic
image of your model.
You can modify shaded objects as you normally would. When a shaded object is selected, the wireframe
and grips appear on top of the shading.
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4. Precision Tools and the Properties
of Drawing
4.1. Specify Units, Angles, and Scale
Specify the units of measurement you want to use, their format, and other conventions.
4.1.1.
Determine Units of Measurement
When you start drawing, you specify the units of measurement, their formats as well as the number of
the decimal fraction.
Set the Units Format
You can set the display format of the unit. These formats include scientific, decimal, engineering,
architectural and fractional notation. To enter architectural feet and inches f
ormat, you can indicate feet
using the prime symbol ('), for example, 72'3. You do not need to specify inches by entering quotation
marks (").
You can set the unit type and precision in the Quick Setup wizard, the Advanced Setup wizard, or the
Units Control dialog box. These settings control how your coordinate, offset, and distance entries are
interpreted, and how coordinates and distances are displayed.
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The input format of three-dimension coordinates is the same as the input format of the two-dimension
coordinates: scientific, decimal, engineering, architectural and fractional notation.
The unit format for creating and listing objects, measuring distance and displaying coordinate locations
is different from the dimension units setting used in creating dimension values.
With ZWCAD, you typically draw at full size (1:1 scale), and then set a scale factor when you print or
plot your drawing. Before you begin drawing, however, you need to determine the relationship
between
drawing units and real-world units.
For example, you can decide whether one linear drawing unit represents an inch, a foot, a meter, or a
mile. In addition, you can specify the way the program measures angles. For both linear and angular
units, you can also set the degree of display precision, such as the number of decimal places or smallest
denominator used when displaying fractions. The precision settings affect only the display of distances,
angles, and coordinates. ZWCAD always stores distances, angles, and coordinates using floating point
accuracy.
Convert Drawing Units
When you create a new drawing in one system of measurement (imperial or metric) and then change to
the other system, use SCALE to scale the model geometry by the appropriate conversion factor to obtain
correct distances and dimensions. The conversion is shown as follows:
For example, to convert inches to centimeters, you scale the drawing by a factor of 3.25. To convert from
centimeters to inches, the sca
le factor is 1/3.25 or about 0.3077.
4.1.2.
Set Angle Conventions
You can specify the location for angle 0 and the positive direction for the angle measurement: clockwise
or counterclockwise. You can also specify the format and the number of the decimal fraction.
Specify the measurement unit and precision. The units include decimal degrees, deg/min/sec, gradians,
radians, and surveyor’s units.
Specify where the angle measurement starts from: east, west, south, north or others. For example, to
enter a coordinate relative to the current coordinate for a property line that is 54 feet, 7 inches long with
a bearing of 60 degrees north, 12 minutes, 6 seconds east, enter @54'7"
nd when setting up a drawing, you don't need to set the scale
until you print it. For example, when you draw a mechanical part 40 inches in length with ZWCAD, you
actually draw it as 40 inches, rather than applying a scale factor as you draw. When you print your
drawing, you can assign the scale at which the drawing is to print.
Scale, however, does affect the way a few elements such as text, arrows, or linetypes print or plot in your
drawing. For these, you can make adjustments when you first set up your drawing so that they print or
plot at the correct size. For example, when you draw text, you need to determine the text size so that
when you print it later at a particular scale, the text height is correct.
After you determine the eventual scale of your finished drawing, you can calculate the scale factor for
the drawing as a ratio of one drawing unit to the actual scale unit represented by each drawing unit. For
example, if you plan to print your drawing at 1/8" = 1'-0", your scale
factor ratio is 1:96 (1/8" = 12" is
the same as 1 = 96). If you want your printed scale to be 1 inch = 100 feet, your scale factor ratio is
1:1200.
The following table shows some standard architectural and engineering scale ratios and equivalent text
heights required to create text that measures 1/8 inch high when you print the drawing at the specified
scale.
Standard scale ratios and equivalent text heights
Scale
Scale factor
Text height
1/16" = 1'-0"
192
24"
1/8" = 1'-0"
96
12"
3/16" = 1'-0"
64
8"
1/4" = 1'-0"
48
6"
3/8" = 1'-0"
32
4"
1/2" = 1'-0"
24
3"
3/4" = 1'-0"
16
2"
1" = 1'-0"
12
1.5"
1 1/2" = 1'-0"
8
1"
3" = 1'-0"
4
0.5"
1" = 10'
120
15"
1" = 20'
240
30"
1" = 30'
360
45"
1" = 40'
480
60"
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1" = 50'
600
75"
1" = 60'
720
90"
1" = 100'
1200
150"
You can use these scale factors to predetermine the size of your drawing to make sure that it fits on a
specific size paper when you print it. You control the size
of your drawing by the drawing limits. To
calculate the drawing limits to match the size of your paper, multiply the dimensions of your paper size
by your scale factor.
For example, if the paper you use to print measures 36 inches x 24 inches and you print your drawing at
1/8" = 1'-0" (in other words, using a scale factor of 96), the size of your drawing measured in drawing
units is 36 x 96 (or 3,456 units) wide and 24 x 96 (or 2,304 units) high.
Keep in mind that you can print the finished drawing at any scale, regardless of the scale factor you
calculate. You can also print on paper of a different size and use the Layout tabs to create different views
of your drawing and to position and scale those views differently. The scaling factor is not related to the
size of the entities you draw; it simply provides a preliminary guide to help you establish the text height
and drawing limits when you begin your drawing. You can change the text height and draw limits at any
time.
Apply scale f
actors
You can set the following factor to determine whether the drawing is plotted on the model space or paper
space.
•
Text. Sets text height in the text style (STYLE) or in the process of creating text. The text plotted
height should be set in proportion to scale factor in model space. The text created on the layout
should be set at 1:1.
•
Dimension. Sets dimension scale in the dimension style (DIMSTYLE) or through system
variable DIMSCALE.
•
Linetype. To plot objects from the Model tap, use system variables CELTSCALE and
LTSCALE to set the scale for non-continuous lines. To plot objects from a layout (paper space),
use system variable PSLTCALE.
•
Hatch. Sets hatch scale in the Hatch and Gradient dialog box or through system variable
HPSCALE.
•
View. When you plot a drawing from a layout, you may need to use ZOOM XP command,
where XP is a ratio that is relative to the paper size (scale factor of reciprocal).
Setting the text height
The text height setting control
s the height of the text, measured in drawing units. Set this value initially
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ZWCAD User Guide
so that text used for your most common annotations, when scaled to the size at which you will print a
drawing, measures 1/8-inch high on the printed drawing.
For example, if you plan to print your drawing at 1/8" = 1'-0" and you want your text to be 1/8-inch high
in the final drawing, create that text 1 foot high (in your real-world drawing units) so that when you print
it, it appears 1/8-inch high on the paper.
You must create text 4 feet high that you want to print 1/2-inch high.
To set the text height
1. Choose Format > Text Style from the main menu.
2. Type a value in the Fixed Text Height under Text Measurements.
3. Press OK to save the current settings.
NOTE The default text height applies only if the current text style height is 0.0. Otherwise, the text
height for the current style takes precedence.
4.2. Drawing Limits
You can specify the drawing limits that form an invisible bo
undary around your drawing. You can use
the drawing limits to make sure that you do not create a drawing larger than can fit on a specific sheet of
paper when printed at a specific scale.
For example, if you plan to print your drawing at 1/8" = 1'-0" (in other words, using a scale factor of 96)
on a sheet of paper measuring 36 inches x 24 inches, you can set drawing limits to 3,264 units wide (that
is, 34 x 96) and 2,112 units high (22 x 96), which allows a 1-inch margin around the edges of the printed
image.
To set the drawing limits
1. Choose Format > Drawing Limits from the main menu.
2. Specify the x-coordinate and y-coordinate of the upper right drawing limit and the
lower left drawing limit. You can also click Select to specify the drawing limits by
selecting points in the drawing.
4.3. Grid and Grid Snap
The grid is a rectangular pattern comprised of cells that extends over the area you specify as the grid
limits. Displaying grids and using grids snap improve the performance of
regenerating.
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Using the grid is like placing a sheet of coordinate paper under a drawing. The grid is not plotted. When
you turn Snap mode on, the cursor adheres or snaps to the invisible grids. Therefore, you can specify
precise points with the arrow keys, mouse or other pointing devices.
Grid and snap settings are effective tools to use in your drawing to ensure accuracy.
Although many users find it convenient to match grid points to snap settings, they are independent of
each other and should not be confused. Grid points are for visual reference only; they do not affect your
drawing and they do not print. Snap points are, by themselves, not visible; however, when set, they
constrain the creation of new entities.
In addition, the cursor can be restricted to move orthogonally only or guides can display on the screen
automatically at specified polar angle increments.
4.3.1.
Change Grid and Snap Spacing
You can turn Grid and Snap-on and off and specify their s
pacing on the Snap and Grid tab at the Drafting
Settings dialog box. Grid spacing does not have to match snap spacing. A wide grid spacing can be used
as a reference while a closer grid spacing helps you specify points accurately.
4.3.2.
Setting color for grid line.
Grid major/minor lines can be switched to different color base on your preference. Open ‘Options’ dialog
box→ ‘Display’ → ‘Color’→‘2D model space’→ ‘Grid major/minor lines’ . You can choose color from
index color, true color or color books.
4.3.3.
Setting a reference grid
A reference grid displays as a pattern of regularly spaced cells. You can turn the display on and off, and
you can specify how far apart the cells are spaced.
The reference grid extends only to the limits of the drawing, helping you to visualize the boundary of
your drawing and to align entities and visualize distances between entities. You can turn th e grid on and
off as needed. You can also change the spacing of the gri
d at any time.
To turn the grid on and set the grid spacing
1. Choose Tools > Drafting Settings from the main menu.
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2. Click the Snap and Grid tab.
3. Click the Grid On box.
4. Under Grid tab, input a value in the Grid X Spacing field and Grid Y Spacing field
separately.
5. Click OK.
Status bar Right-click on the Grid Display button to choose Settings.
TIP To toggle the grid display on and off at any time, click the Grid Display button on the status b ar, or
press F7.
4.3.4.
Setting snap spacing
Another way to ensure drawing accuracy is to turn on and set snap spacing. When snap is turned on, the
program restricts the selection points to predetermined snap intervals. Although it is often helpful for
snapping by means of matching the snap spacing with grid spacing, the setting is not required.
To turn snap settings on and set snap spacing
1. Choose Tools > Drafting Settings from the main menu.
2. Click the Snap and Grid tab.
3. Click the Snap-On box.
4. Under S
nap tab, input a value in the Snap X Spacing field and Snap Y Spacing field
separately.
5. Click OK.
Status bar Right-click on the Snap Mode button to choose Settings.
TIP To toggle snap settings on and off at any time, click the Snap Mode button on the status bar, or press
F9.
4.3.5.
Using isometric snap
You can use the Isometric Snap option to create two-dimensional isometric drawings. With the isometric
option, you are simply drawing a simulated three-dimensional view on a 2D plane, much the same as
you might draw on a piece of paper. Do not confuse isometric drawings with three-dimensional drawings.
You create three-dimensional drawings in three-dimensional space.
The isometric option always uses three preset planes, which are denoted as left, right, and top.
You cannot alter the arrangement of these planes. If the snap angle is 0, the three isometric axes are 30
degrees, 90 degrees, and 150 degrees.
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When you check the Isometric Snap option and select an
isometric plane, the snap intervals, grid, and
crosshairs align with the current plane. The grid is always shown as isometric and uses y coordinates to
calculate the grid spacing. If you click the Draw Orthogonal check box, the program restricts the drawing
of entities to the current isometric plane.
To turn the Isometric Snap And Grid option on
1. Choose Tools > Drafting Settings from the main menu.
2. Click the Snap and Grid tab.
3. In Snap Type tab, select the Isometric Snap check box.
4. Click OK.
Tip To choose a different isometric plane and toggle between three isometric planes, press F5.
4.4. Use Object Snaps
Object snaps enable you to quickly select exact geometric points on existing entities without having to
know the exact coordinates of those points. With object snaps, you can select the endpoint of a line or
arc, the center point of a circle, the intersection of any two entities, or any other geometrically significant
position. You can also use object snaps to draw entiti
es that are tangent or perpendicular to an existing
entity.
You can use object snaps whenever the program prompts you to specify a point, for example, if you are
drawing a line or other object. To turn on the ESNAP mode, any of the following ways are available:
•
Choose Tools > Drafting Settings from the main menu to open the Drafting Settings dialog box,
toggle to Object Snap tab, and then tick the Object Snap On checkbox.
•
Press F3.
•
Click the Object Snap button on the status bar.
When using object snaps, the program recognizes only visible objects or visible portions of objects. You
cannot snap to objects on layers that have been turned off or to the blank portions of dashed lines.
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When Object Snaps is turned on, a marker and a tooltip are displayed when you move the cursor over an
object snap location on an object.
4.4.1.
Setting object snaps
You can set object snaps using any of the following methods:
•
•
Choose Tools > Drafting Setting
s > Object Snap, and then click one of the object snap tools.
On the Object Snap toolbar, click one of the object snap tools
•
•
On the status bar, right-click on the Object Snap button to choose Settings.
Press and hold down the Shift key while right-clicking anywhere within the drawing window
to display the object snap shortcut menu, and then choose the object snap you want to set.
4.4.2.
Object Snap settings
If you need to use one or more object snaps repeatedly, you can turn on running object snaps on the Grid
and Snap tab of Drafting Settings dialog box. The object snap mode keeps on unless you turn it off. For
example, you can use an object snap to draw a line to the center of a circle.
If several objects snap on, the system chooses automatically the most suitable object snap. If there are
two possible object snaps at the selection area, the system chooses the one that is closer to the center of
target box.
If you turn several object snaps on, you need to check which one
is in effect when you specify a point.
If several object snaps are eligible at a given location, press the TAB key to cycle through the possibilities
before you specify the point.
4.4.3.
Object Snap Restrictions
With the object snap on, you can snap objects only visible on the screen, including objects on locked
layers, layout viewport boundaries, and polyline segments. You cannot snap to objects that are not visible,
including objects that are not displayed, objects on turned-off or frozen layers, or the blank portions of
dashed lines.
The object snap is available only when you are prompted to specify a point. There isn't any information
about object snap displayed if you try to use an object snap at the Command prompt.
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4.4.4.
AutoSnap Tools
The automatic snap tool is a visual aid tool for snapping that help you see and use object snaps more
efficiently. When any object snap is on, the system displays a marker and a tooltip when you move your
cursor on ov
er a snap point. AutoSnap turns on automatically when an object snap is on. By default,
AutoSnap marker, tooltip and magnet are on. You can change the settings of AutoSnap on the Options
dialog box.
AutoSnap consists of the following snap tools:
•
Marker. The object snap location is displayed when the cursor moves over or near an object.
Marker shape is determined by the snap it is marking.
•
•
Tooltip. Indicates which part of the object you are snapping to in a flag at the cursor location.
Magnet. Attracts and locks the cursor onto the nearest detected snap points. Provides a visual
that is similar to snapping to a grid.
•
Aperture box. Surrounds the crosshairs and defines an area within which, when you move the
cursor, the system evaluates objects for object snaps. You can determine the aperture box is
displayed or not, and the aperture box size can be changed too.
To change the size of the object snap target box
1. Choose Tools > Options from the main menu.
2. Switch to
the Drafting tab.
3. Under Aperture Size, slide to adjust the desired size.
4. Click OK.
4.5. Use Polar Tracking and Object Snap
Tracking
Auto tracking includes polar tracking and object snap tracking. You can turn them on and off by
repressing POLAR and OTRACK button on the Status Bar.
When the polar tracking mode is on, the cursor moves along the specified angle. When the object snap
tracking is on, the cursor moves along an alignment path based on the snap point.
4.5.1.
Polar Tracking
When polar tracking is turned on, guides display on the screen automatically at the polar angle increment
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that you specify. For example, if you draw a line with polar tracking turned on with angle increment set
as 65 degrees, the rubber-banding line displays at 65-degree increments.
Polar tracking and orthogonal locking cannot be used at the same time-turning one option on turns the
other option off.
To enable polar tracking and specify the polar angle increment
1. Choose T
ools > Drafting Settings from the main menu.
On the Object Snap toolbar, click the Object Snap Settings button.
Type DSETTINGS on the command line and then press Enter.
2. Switch to the Polar Tracking tab.
3. Select the Polar Tracking On checkbox.
To specify the polar angle increments:
1. Select an angle from the Increment Angle drop-down list.
2. Mark the Additional Angles checkbox and click New to define a custom angle
increment.
3. Click OK.
TIP To toggle polar tracking on and off at any time, click the Polar Tracking button on the status bar or
press F10.
To draw objects using polar tracking
1. Turn on polar tracking and start a drawing command, such as ARC, CIRCLE, or LINE.
You can also use polar tracking with editing commands, such as COPY and MOVE.
2. As you move your cursor to specify points, notice the dotted polar tracking line that
appears at the tracking angles you specified. Points you specify while the line is
displayed conform to the polar tracking angle.
Z-Tracking
P
olar tracking on Z-Axis is available now in 3D design. You can draw lines parallel to Z Axis easily
without any other construction lines.
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Automatically snap grip in Z axis direction
Specify Polar Angles
You can set a polar increment angle to polar tracking. The default angle includes 90, 45, 30, 22.5, 18, 15,
10 and 5 degrees. You can also type a desired angle in the Additional Angles textbox. The value is stored
in the system variable POLARANG. The orientation of angle 0 and the direction of object snap are
dependent on your settings in the Drawing Settings dialog box (UNITS).
The following illustration shows the alignment paths displayed as you move your cursor 90 degrees with
the polar angle increment set to 30 degrees.
To set polar tracking angles
1. Choose Tools > Drafting Settings from the main menu.
2. In the Drafting Settings dialog box, on the Polar Tracking tab, select Polar Tracking
On.
3. From the Increment Angle list, select the desired angle.
4.
To set additional tracking angles, select Additional Angles. Then click New and enter
the angle value in the text box.
5. Under Polar Angle Measurement, specify whether polar tracking increments are
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based on the UCS or relative to the last object you created.
6. Choose OK.
Specify Polar Distances
AutoSnap restricts cursor movement to increments of a polar distance you specified on the Snap and
Grid tab of Drafting Settings dialog box. For example, if you specify a length of 6 units, the cursor snaps
the length specified to lengths of 0, 6, 12, 18, 24, and so on.
When you move the cursor, a tooltip displays the nearest PolarSnap increment. Only when polar tracking
and snap mode are on, you can restrict point entry to polar distance.
To set polar snap distance
1. Choose Tools > Drafting Settings from the main menu.
2. In the Drafting Settings dialog box, on the Snap and Grid tab, select Snap-On.
3. In Snap Type, select PolarSnap.
4. Under Polar Spacing, enter the
polar distance.
5. Choose the Polar Tracking tab and select Polar Tracking On.
6. Select an angle from the Increment Angle list. You can specify your own angles by
choosing Additional Angles and then New.
7. Choose OK.
4.5.2.
Object Snap Tracking
You must set an object snap and turn the object snap model on before you can track from an existing
object's snap point.
Object snap tracking can track along alignment paths that are based on object snap points and display
tooltips at the acquired points. After you acquire a point, horizontal, vertical and polar alignment paths
relative to the point are displayed when the cursor moves over their drawing path. For example, you can
specify a point along a path that is based on an object endpoint or midpoint or an intersection between
objects.
In the following picture, the Endpoint object snap is on. You create a line by clicking its start point (1),
move the cursor over another line's endpoint (2) to acquire it, and then move the cursor alon
g the
horizontal alignment path to locate the endpoint you want for the line you are drawing.
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By default, the object snap tracking is set to Orthogonal. Alignment paths and tooltips are displayed at 0,
90, 180, and 270 degrees from acquired object points. However, you can use polar tracking angles instead
on the Polar Tracking tab in the Drafting Settings dialog box.
You can also use system variable TRACKPATH to control the display of polar and object snap tracking
alignment paths.
4.5.3.
Tips for Using Object Snap Tracking
With AutoTrack is on, you may try the following techniques:
•
When you set Perpendicular, Endpoint, and Midpoint object snap and turn on object snap
tracking mode, you can easily draw to point perpendicular to the end or midpoint of an object.
•
Object snap tracking works in conjunction with temporary tracking points. At a point prompt,
enter it and specify a temporary tracking point. A small + is displayed at the point. When you
mo
ve the cursor, the tracking alignment paths are displayed relative to the temporary point. To
delete this point, move the cursor back over the +.
•
After acquiring a point, you can specify a point at precise distances along alignment paths from
the acquired point.
•
You can use the Automatic and Shift to acquire options set on the Drafting tab of the Options
dialog box to manage point acquisition. By default, point acquisition is set to Automatic. When
working in close quarters, you can press SHIFT to temporarily avoid acquiring a point.
4.6. Use Orthogonal Locking (Ortho Mode)
You can restrict cursor movement to the current horizontal and vertical axes so that you can draw at right
angles, or orthogonally. For example, with the default 0-degree Orientation (angle 0 at the "three o'clock"
or "east" position), when the Draw Orthogonal option is enabled, lines are restricted to 0 degrees, 90
degrees, 180 degrees, or 270 degrees. As you draw lines, the rubber banding line follows
either the
horizontal or vertical axis, depending on which axis is farthest from the cursor. When you enable the
isometric snap and grid, cursor movement is restricted to orthogonal equivalents within the current
isometric plane.
Ortho mode and polar tracking cannot be on at the same time. Turning on Ortho turns off polar tracking.
To enable orthogonal drawing
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4.7. Work with Linetypes
ZWCAD provides simple and complex linetypes:
•
A simple linetype consists of a repeating pattern of dots, dashes, or blank spaces.
•
A complex linetype contains the embedded shape and text objects along with dots, dashes, and
spaces.
You can use different linetypes to represent specific kinds of information. For example, if you are
drawing a site plan, you can draw roads using a continuous linetype, a fence using a linetype of dashes
with square posts, or a gas line using a complex linetype showing the text "GAS".
By default, every drawing has at least three linetypes: CONT
INUOUS, BYLAYER, and BYBLOCK.
You cannot rename or delete these linetypes. Your drawing may also contain an unlimited number of
additional linetypes. You can load more linetypes into the program from a linetype library file.
4.7.1.
Load and Use Linetypes
A linetype is a repeating pattern of dashes, dots, and blank spaces displayed in a line or a curve. Loads
linetype from a drawing to be reused when needed.
Work with Linetypes
You can assign linetypes to objects by layer, or by specifying the linetype explicitly. Besides choosing
linetype, you can specify its scale to control the size of dashes and spaces, and create your own custom
linetypes.
NOTE You should not confuse these linetypes with the hardware linetypes provided by some plotters.
Both linetypes of dashes produce the similar effects. However, if you use both linetypes at the same time,
the results can be unpredictable.
Load Linetypes
ZWCAD includes the linetype definition files zwcad.lin and zwcadiso.lin. zwcad.lin is us
ed in the
imperial system, and zwcadiso.lin is used in the metric system. If you select zwcadiso.lin, you can use
ISO pen-width option when you plot.
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If you want to know what linetypes are already available, you can display a list of linetypes that are
loaded in the drawing or stored in a LIN (linetype definition) file. Both linetype definition files contain
several complex linetypes.
You can remove unreferenced linetype information with PURGE or by deleting the linetype from the
Linetype Manager. BYBLOCK, BYLAYER, and CONTINUOUS linetypes cannot be removed.
4.7.2.
Change the Linetype of an Object
You can change the linetype of an object by changing the linetype of the layer the object is on, reassigning
the object to another layer, or by specifying a linetype for the object directly.
Set the Current Linetype
By default, all objects are created using the current linetype, which is displayed in the Linetype Control
on the Properties toolbar. To modify this cu
rrent linetype, you can select a linetype and make it current
in the Linetype Manager dialog box. You can also do this setting using the Linetype option on the
Properties palette.
If the current linetype is BYLARER, objects are created using the linetype assigned to the current layer.
If the current linetype is BYBLOCK, objects are created using CONTINOUS linetype until they are
grouped into a block. When you insert the block, it acquires the current linetype setting.
If you do not want to use the linetype assigned to the layer, you can specify a different linetype explicitly.
ZWCAD does not display the linetype of certain objects: text, points, viewports, hatches, and blocks.
To make the linetype current
Select a linetype from the Linetype Control pull-down list on the Properties toolbar, which is set to the
current linetype.
Change the Linetype of an Object
To change the linetype of an object, you can use following methods:
•
If the linetype of an object is set to BYLARE, and the
object is assigned to another layer, it
acquired its linetype from the new layer.
•
If the linetype of an object is set to BYLAYER when you change the linetype assigned to a layer,
the objects on that layer which are assigned the BYLAYER linetype are updated automatically.
•
Specify a linetype for an object to override the linetype of the layer. You can specify different
linetypes for each object. If you want to specify a different linetype to override the playerdetermined linetype of an object, change an existing object's linetype from BYLAER to a
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specific linetype, such as DASHED.
•
If you want to set a linetype for a subsequently created object, you can change the current
linetype BYLAYER to a specific one in the Linetype Control on the Properties toolbar.
4.7.3.
Control Linetype Scale
You can set global or individual scales for objects to control the display of linetypes.
By default, the global and individual linetype scales are set to 1.0. The
smaller the scale, the more
repetitions of the pattern are produced per drawing unit. For example, if the scale is set to 0.2, five
repetitions of the pattern in the linetype definition are displayed for each drawing unit.
When short segments are too short to display one full linetype pattern, it is displayed as continuous.
When the lines are too short to display even one dash sequence, you need to specify a smaller linetype
scale. Otherwise, the linetype is displayed as continuous shown in the following illustration:
For polylines, you can use system variable PLINEGEN to control whether a linetype pattern is centered
on each segment or is continuous across vertices throughout the entire length of the polyline.
The Global Scale Factor and Current Object Scale are displayed in the Linetype Manager.
The Global Scale Factor and Current Object Scale are displayed in the Linetype Manager. The Global
Scale Factor value is stored in the system variable LTSCALE, which changes the linetype s
cale globally
for new and existing objects. The Current Object Scale is stored in the system variable CELTSCALE,
which specifies the linetype scale for new objects. You can get the displayed linetype scale by multiplying
the CELTSCALE value with the LTSCALE value. The linetype scales in the drawing can be changed
easily either individually or globally.
In a layout, you can use system variable PSLTSCALE to adjust the linetype scale in different viewports.
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NOTE Setting the linetype scale too large or too small may result in a line pattern looking like a so lid
line, depending on what the scale view is or at what scale the drawing is printed.
You can control a new entity's individual linetype scale factor as well as the overall or global scale factor
applied to all the entities in the drawing.
To set the current individual linetype scale
1. Choose Format > Linetype from the main menu.
2. Click the Show Details button.
3. In the Current Object Scale field, type the
linetype scale that you want to make
current.
4. Click OK.
To change the global linetype scale
1. Choose Format > Linetype from the main menu.
2. Click the Show Details button.
3. In the Global Scale Factor field, type the global linetype scale that you want to
change.
4. Click OK.
4.8. Work with Layers
Layers are like transparent overlays on which you organize and group different kinds of drawing
information.
4.8.1.
Overview of Layers
Layers in ZWCAD are like the transparent overlays you use in manual drafting. You use layers to
organize different types of drawing information. In ZWCAD, each object in a drawing exists on a layer.
When you draw an object, it is created on the current layer.
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You can control the visibility of layers in individual viewports. When you turn a layer off, objects drawn
on that layer are no longer visible, and they do not print. Although a layer may be invisible, you can still
select it as the current layer, in which case new objec
ts are also invisible until you turn the layer back on.
Objects on invisible layers can also affect the display and printing of objects on other layers. For example,
entities on invisible layers can hide other objects when you use the Hide command to remove hidden
lines.
You can also freeze and thaw layers. Objects drawn on frozen layers do not display, do not print, and do
not regenerate. When you freeze a layer, its objects do not affect the display or printing of other objects.
For example, objects on frozen layers do not hide other objects when you use the Hide command to
remove hidden lines. In addition, you cannot draw on a frozen layer until you thaw it, and you cannot
make a frozen layer current.
You cannot freeze the current layer. If you attempt to freeze the current layer, a dialog box prompting
"Cannot freeze the current layer" appears. You also cannot freeze or thaw a viewport layer unless you
are working on a Layout tab.
You can lock or unlock layers. The objects on a loc
ked layer are still visible and will print, but you cannot
edit them. Locking a layer prevents you from accidentally modifying objects.
Each layer has its own color, linetype, and lineweight. For drawings that use named print styles, layers
can also have their own print style. Objects you draw on a particular layer are displayed in the color,
linetype, and lineweight associated with that layer unless you override these settings.
4.8.2.
Create and Name Layers
You can create an unlimited number of layers in every drawing and use those layers for organizing
information. When you create a new layer, it is initially assigned the color white (or black, depending on
your system settings) and the linetype CONTINUOUS. By default, a new layer is also visible. After you
create and name a layer, you can change its color, linetype, visibility, and other properties.
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Layers can have alphanumeric names up to 255 characters long.
In many cases, the layer names you choose are d
ictated by corporate, industry, or client standards.
The Layer Properties Manager sorts layers alphabetically by name.
To create a new layer
1. Choose Format > Layer from the main menu.
2.
3.
Click the New Layer button.
Type a name for the new layer.
4.
Click OK.
To change a layer name in the current drawing
1. Choose Format > Layer from the main menu.
2. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, click the name of the layer you want to
change.
3. Type a new name and click OK.
NOTE You cannot rename the 0 layer.
Setting the current layer
When you start a drawing, objects are created in the current layer. By default, the layer 0 is set to the
current layer, but you can also create a new one and make it current. Either frozen or xref-dependent
layer cannot be set to the current layer. Any subsequent objects you create are associated with the current
layer and use its color and linetype.
To make a layer current
1. Choose Format > Layer from the main menu.
2. In the Layer Properti
es Manager dialog box, select a layer and then click the Set
Current button to make the layer current.
3. Clicks OK.
Remove Layers
You can remove unused layers from your drawing with PURGE or by deleting the layer from the Layer
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Properties Manager.
4.8.3.
Change Layer Settings and Layer Properties
Everything in a drawing is associated with a layer, in the course of creating a drawing, you can modify
what you draw by renaming layer name, modifying the properties of a layer (color and linetype), or
placing objects from one layer to another.
If you create an object on a wrong layer, you can reassign it to another layer. Unless the linetype, color
or other properties of the object has been specified explicitly, the object acquires the properties of the
new layer.
You can change layer properties in the layer control on the Layers toolb ar or in the Layer Properties
Manager. Click the icons to change settings. However, layer names and colors can be changed only in
the Layer Properties Manager.
Controlling layer visibility
A layer can be visible or invisible. Objects on invisible layers are not displayed and do not print. By
controlling layer visibility, you can turn off unnecessary information, such as construction lines or notes.
By changing layer visibility, you can put the same drawing to multiple uses.
For example, if you are drawing a floor plan, you can draw the layout of light fixtures on one layer and
the location of plumbing lines on another. By selectively turning layers on and off, you can print the
electrical engineering drawings and the plumbing drawings from the same drawing file. For even more
convenience, you can control the visibility of layers within individual viewports, so that layers that
display in one viewport are invisible in other viewports in the same drawing.
When you turn a layer off, objects drawn on that layer are no longer visible. When you turn the layer
back on, the objects on that layer are redisplayed.
To turn
layers on or off
1. Choose Format > Layer from the main menu.
2. Click the icon under "On" tab in the layer list.
3. Click OK.
Freeze or thaw layers
You can also freeze layers to improve the performance of operations such as zooming and panning or
producing hidden lines or shaded images. When a layer is frozen, objects drawn on that layer are no
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longer visible.
To freeze or thaw layers
1. Choose Format > Layer from the main menu.
2. Click the icon under "Freeze" tab in the layer list.
3. Click OK.
Locking and unlocking layers
Locking a layer makes it easy to refer to information contained on the layer, but prevents you from
accidentally modifying its objects. When a layer is locked (but visible and thawed), its objects remain
visible, but you cannot edit them. If you lock the current layer, you can still add new objects to it. You
can also change the linetype and color associated with a locked layer.
Unlocking a layer restores full editing capabilities.
To lo
ck or unlock layers
1. Choose Format > Layer from the main menu.
2. Click the icon under "Lock" tab in the layer list.
3. Click OK.
Controlling layer printing
Controlling layer printing is another way you can specify which objects print in your drawing.
By controlling layer printing, you can turn off unnecessary information during printing. For example, if
you are drawing a floor plan, you can draw the layout of light fixtures on one layer and the location of
plumbing lines on another. By selectively turning layers on and off when you print, you can print the
electrical engineering drawings and the plumbing drawings from the same drawing file. By changing
layer printing, you can put the same drawing to multiple uses.
When you turn off printing for a layer, objects drawn on that layer are still visible, but they do not print.
If you turn off a layer's visibility, objects drawn on that layer do not display or print.
Controlling layer printing can be especially helpful if you want layer
visibility on, but do not want to
print objects on that layer.
To turn layer printing on or off
1. Choose Format > Layer from the main menu.
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2. Click the icon under "Plot" tab in the layer list.
3. Click OK.
Setting the layer color
Each layer in a drawing is assigned a color. ZWCAD uses the BYLAYER color as the default color
setting for object creation so that new objects are drawn in the color of the layer on which they are
inserted.
To change the layer color
1. Choose Format > Layer from the main menu.
2. Click the icon under "Color" tab in the layer list to open Select Color dialog box,
from which, you can specify the desired color.
3. In the Select Color dialog box, select a color from one of the following tabs:
4. Index Color — Click BYBLOCK, BYLAYER, or one of the 255 index colors. You can also
type the color number in the Color box.
5. True Color — Click a basic color in the left color panel, and then move the slider to
the right to specify a color. T
here are more than 16 million true colors from which
you can choose.
6. Color Books — Select a color book from the Color Book pull-down list, and then
click a desired color from the options displayed.
7. Click OK.
NOTE You can also assign a specific color to an object, which overrides the layer's color setting. When
you create a new object, use the Format > Color menu option to change the current color. For an existing
object, double-click this object and then change the object's color on the Properties palette that pops up.
Setting a layer's linetype
Each layer uses a default linetype (a repeating pattern of dashes, dots, or blank spaces). Linetype
determines the appearance of objects both on the screen and when printed.
It's a good idea to assign the BYLAYER linetype to any objects that you draw on that layer.
ZWCAD uses the BYLAYER linetype as the default linetype setting for Object Creation.
NOTE Only those linetypes already set in the drawing can be assigned to layers.
To chang
e the linetype assigned to one or more layers
1. Choose Format > Layer from the main menu.
2. Click the Linetype name in the layer list to open Select Linetype dialog box, from
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which, you can specify the desired linetype.
3. Click OK.
NOTE You can also assign a specific linetype to an object, which overrides the layer's linetype setting.
When you create a new object, use the Format > Linetype menu option to change the current linetype.
For an existing object, double-click this object and then modify the object's linetype on the Properties
palette that pops up.
Setting a layer's lineweight
Each layer uses a default lineweight. Lineweights determine the thickness of objects both on the screen
and when printed.
All new layers are assigned the DEFAULT lineweight, which is .25 millimeters or .01 inches.
If you want a different lineweight assigned to a layer, you can easily change it using Layer Properties
Manager. For example, you may want different lineweights on ea
ch layer of your drawing to show
separate elements, such as walls, dimensions, structural steel, and electrical plans. Changing the
lineweight assigned to a layer changes the lineweight of all objects drawn on that layer with the
BYLAYER lineweight.
When you create new objects, it's a good idea to assign the BYLAYER lineweight to any objects that
you draw on that layer, unless you want to override the layer lineweight. ZWCAD uses the BYLAYER
lineweight as the default lineweight setting when you create objects.
To change the lineweight assigned to one or more layers
1. Choose Format > Layer from the main menu.
2. Click the Lineweight name in the layer list to open Lineweight dialog box, from
which, you can specify the desired lineweight.
3. Click OK.
NOTE You can also assign a specific lineweight to an object, which overrides the layer's lineweight
setting. When you create a new object, use the Format > Lineweight menu option to change the current
lineweight. For an existing object, dou
ble-click this object and then modify the object's lineweight on
the Properties palette that pops up.
Setting a layer's print style
If your drawing uses named print style tables, you can specify a print style for each layer.
Named print style tables contain print styles that you set up to control what objects loo k like when they
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print, without actually changing the objects in the drawing.
If your drawing uses color-dependent print style tables, you cannot specify a print style for a layer. These
types of print style tables automatically determine printing requirements by the color assigned to a layer
or an object.
In drawings that use named print style tables, the default print style is Normal for all new layers. If
desired, you can assign a print style using Layer Properties Manager. Changing the print style assigned
to a layer changes the print style of all objects drawn on that layer with the BYLAYER print style.
When you create new objects, it's a good idea
to assign the BYLAYER print style to any objects that you
draw on that layer, unless you want to override the layer print style. ZWCAD uses the BYLAYER print
style as the default print style setting when you create objects.
To change the print style assigned to one or more layers (only in a drawing that uses
named print style tables)
1. Choose Format > Layer from the main menu.
2. Click the name of Plot Style in the layer list to open Select Plot Style dialog box,
from which, you can specify the desired plot style.
3. Click OK.
4.8.4.
Filter and Sort the List of Layers
Limits the display of layer name listed in the Layer Properties Manager and sorts them by name or by
properties, such as color and visibility.
You can use a layer filter limits the display of layer names in the Layer Properties Manager.
The following properties can be included in the filter definition:
•
•
Whether layers are set to be plotted
Layer names, colors, linetypes, lineweights, and plot styles
•
•
Whether layers are locked or unlocked
Whether layers are turned on or off
•
Whether layers are frozen or thawed in the current viewport or all viewports
When setting filter conditions, you can also use wild-card characters to filter names by name. For
example, typing nare* displays layer name preceded with nare, just click Add button if the filter name
has been specified.
You can also use invert filter to display layer names that do not be included filter definition. For example,
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if all the site plan information of a drawing is contained in multiple layers, which include the word lite
as part of the layer name, you should first define the filter by way of specifying filter name and inputting
*lite* in layer name option, and then click Invert Filter option to display all the information excluded
from the site plan information.
Name Layer Filters lists default filters and other saved filters created in the current drawing. The three
default filters are shown
as follows:
•
•
Show all layers.
Show all used layers.
• Show all Xref_dependent layers.
The newly created filters are displayed in the Name Layer Filters at the Layer Properties Manager. These
filters are saved with the drawing.
Sort Layers
From the Layer Properties Manager, you can click the column heading to sort layers by their properties
in that column. The properties include layer name, visibility, color, lineweight, plotted style and linetype.
And layer names can be sorted in descending or ascending alphabetical/numerical order.
4.8.5.
Save and Restore Layer Settings
You can save the current layer settings in a drawing and restore them later.
Save Layer Settings
Layer settings include:
•
•
Layer states, such as on, frozen, locked, plot and freeze automatically in a new viewport.
Layer properties, such as color, linetype, lineweight and plot style.
You can save layer settings alternatively. For example, you can choose to save only Fro zen/Thawed
settings of th
e layers in a drawing, ignoring all other settings. When you restore the layer states, all
settings remain as they are currently set except whether each layer is frozen or thawed.
You can export named layer states to a LAS file for use in other drawings using the Layer States Manager.
The layer states of xref cannot be exported.
Restore Layer Settings
You can not only restore the saved settings but also edit, rename or delete named settings. Using Layer
States Manager, you can import named layer states that were previously export to LAS files.
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Whatever layer states come from the drawing or LAS files, only saved settings can be restored and the
unspecific layer settings remain the original settings.
4.9. Work with Colors
An entity's color determines how it is displayed and, if you are using a color printer, how it prints. Entities
are created in the current color specified for the drawing.
Layers can also control the color of entities. When you open a new drawin
g, entities are created in the
color BYLAYER, which adopts the color of the current layer. Initially, layer 0 is both the only layer and
the current layer. Its default color is white, so your entities appear as white.
For entities and layers in ZWCAD, there are three different types of colors:
•
Index colors
•
•
True colors
Color books colors
You can choose colors by selecting them from the Select Color dialog box. In the command bar or in
some dialog boxes, you specify a color either by name or by number.
All objects are created with the current color, which is displayed in the Color Control on the Properties
toolbar. With the Color Control or the Select Color dialog box, yo u can also set the current color.
Objects are created with the color assigned to the current layer. If the current color is set to BYLAYER.
If the current color is not expected to be the color assigned to the current layer, you can specify another
color instead.
If the current color is set to BYBLOCK, ob
jects are created using color 7 (white or black) until these
objects are grouped into a block. Once the block is inserted into a drawing, it uses current color settings
instead.
4.9.1.
Use Index Colors
There are 255 standard index colors and two additional color properties that are often referred to as colors
(BYLAYER and BYBLOCK). You can use seven of the 255 standard index colors by name: red, yellow,
green, cyan, blue, magenta, and white. (Numbers eight and nine are not named.) Each index color has a
unique number from 1 to 255. The two additional color properties are BYLAYER and BYBLOCK. These
color properties cause an entity to adopt the color either of the layer or of the block in which it is a
member. BYLAYER is color number 256, and BYBLOCK is color number 0. In all commands for which
you would use a color, you can indicate BYLAYER and BYBLOCK as well as by numbers 256 and 0,
respectively.
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To select an index color
1. Click Select Color in the desired d
ialog box, such as Layers, Properties, or Multiline
Text. The Select Color dialog box opens.
2. Click the Index Color tab.
3. Click the color of your choice, or type the color number in the Color box.
4. Click OK.
4.9.2.
Use True Colors
There are more than 16 million true colors from which you can choose. True colors are defined using 24bit color.
Even with so many colors available, you can quickly choose a color from the display of basic colors or
by clicking the color palette. Alternatively, if you know the values used to define the desired color, you
can enter the Hue, Saturation, and Luminance (HSL) values, or you can enter the Red, Green, Blue (RGB)
values.
To select a true color
1. Click Select Color in the desired dialog box, such as Layers, Properties, or Multiline
Text. The Select Color dialog box opens.
2. Click the True Color tab.
3. Select one of the following two color models:
4. HSL color model
5. RGB color model
6. Specify the desired color.
7. Click OK.
4.9.3.
Use
Color Books
ZWCAD uses color books to store collections of colors. For example, you can store a unique color
scheme for a client in a color book and then use colors only from that color book for the client's drawings.
You may have a color book given to you by a client, developed by a third party, or you can create your
own. Each color book has a .acb extension and is saved in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format.
By default, color books are stored in the ...Support\color folder under ZWCAD installation directory.
To create a color book
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1. Start an XML editor program.
2. Create a new XML file using the format below as a guide.
Color
book sample
0 0 0
Orange
255 128 0
Light
Green
128 192<
/green>128
Gray
128 128 128
3. Save the color book in XML format and with a .acb extension.
NOTE Your color book can contain an unlimited number of colors using the and
tags.
To load a color book
1. Save the color book in the folder where ZWCAD searches for color books. By default,
this is the same folder where you installed ZWCAD.
2. To select a color book color
3. Click Select Color in the desired dialog box, such as Layers, Properties, or Multiline
Text. The Select Color dialog box opens.
4. Click the Color Books tab.
5. Select a color book from the list.
6. Click the desired color.
7. Click OK.
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4.10. Control Lineweights
You can further differentiate objects in your drawing by controlling their lineweights both in the drawing
display and in plotting.
4.10.1. Overview of Li
neweights
Lineweights help differentiates the purpose of one line from another. Lineweights determine how thick
or thin entities appear both on the screen and when printed.
By default, each drawing has three main lineweights: DEFAULT, BYLAYER, BYBLOCK, and many
additional lineweights in millimeters (or you can use inches).
When you create an entity, it is created using the current lineweight. By default, the current lineweight
for a new entity is BYLAYER. This means that the entity lineweight is determined by the current layer.
When you assign BYLAYER, changing a layer's lineweight changes the lineweight of all the entities
assigned that layer (if they were created using the lineweight BYLAYER).
You can also select a specific lineweight (or DEFAULT) as the current lineweight, which overrides the
layer's lineweight setting. Entities are then created using that lineweight (or the DEFAULT lineweight),
and changing the layer lineweight has no effect on them.
As a third option, you can use
the lineweight BYBLOCK property, in which case new entities are drawn
using the DEFAULT lineweight until you group them into a block.
The entities then inherit the block's lineweight setting when you insert the block into a drawing.
If you choose a lineweight that is less than .025 millimeter, it displays as one pixel when you create your
drawing. When you print your drawing, it prints at the thinnest lineweight that is available for your printer.
You cannot assign lineweights to planes, points, TrueType fonts, or raster images.
4.10.2. Display Lineweights
Display lineweights in both of model space and layer space. Lineweights are displayed differently in
paper space layout than model space. Lineweights are useful for graphical representations of different
objects and information.
Display Lineweights in Model Space
In model space, a 0-value lineweight is displayed as a pixel, and other lineweights are displayed with a
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pixel width proportional to their real-unit
value.
In model space, the lineweight display does not change with the zoom factor. A lineweight value that is
represented by a width of several pixels is always displayed using the same number of pixels. Unless
you use LWEIGHT command to open Lineweight Settings dialog box and change the display scale, the
lineweight display scale keeps unchanged. In addition, the lineweight display scale does not affect the
lineweight plotting value.
Lineweight that are represented more than one pixels increase regeneration time. Turning off the display
of lineweight optimizes the performance of the program.
In model space, press LWT button on the status toolbar to turn the lineweight display on and off.
Display Lineweights in Layouts
In paper space (layout tab), lineweights are displayed in exact plotting width.
In plot preview and paper space, lineweights are displayed in real-world units and lineweight changes
with the scale factor. From the Plotting Scale tab of Plot dialog box, you can control
the lineweight
plotting and scale in a drawing.
In paper space, press LWT button on the status toolbar to turn the lineweight display on and off. This
change does not affect the lineweight plotting.
4.10.3. Change the Lineweight of an Object
You can change the current lineweight of an object by reassigning the object to another layer, by changing
the lineweight of the layer the object is on, or by specifying a lineweight for the object explicitly.
Set the Current Lineweight
All objects are created in a drawing using the current lineweight. You can change the lineweight in the
Lineweight control on the Properties toolbar, or in the Lineweight Settings dialog box.
If the current lineweight is set to BYLAYER, objects are created in a drawing using the lineweight
assigned to the current layer.
If the current lineweight is set to BYBLOCK, objects are created using the default lineweight, until the
objects are grouped into a block. When the block is inserted into a drawing, it acquires th
e current
lineweight setting.
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To specify a lineweight for the current layer that is different from the current lineweight, open the Layer
Properties Manager and give a specific value.
By default, the lineweight of an object is set to BYLAER, and the lineweight of a layer is set to DEFAULT.
Lineweight that is assigned to objects is displayed as a solid fill drawn in the object's assigned color.
To set the current lineweight
1. Choose Format > Lineweight from the main menu.
2. From the Lineweight list, choose the lineweight that you want to make current.
3. Click OK.
TIP On the status bar, click the LWT button to toggle the display of lineweights on and off.
NOTE To see lineweights in your drawing, you may need to turn on lineweights.
Change the Lineweight of an Object
There are three choices for changing the lineweight of an object:
•
If the lineweight of an object is set to BYLAYER, and you reassign the object to a different
layer, the object acquires its lin
eweight from the new layer.
•
If the lineweight of an object is set to BYLAYER, you can change the lineweig ht of the layer
the object is on, and all objects assigned to BYLAYER on that layer are updated automatically.
•
Specify a lineweight for an object to override the layer's lineweight. If you want to specify a
lineweight to override the player-determined lineweight of an object, change an existing object's
lineweight from BYLAYER to a specific lineweight.
In order to create subsequent objects using a new lineweight, you have to change the lineweight setting
on the Properties toolbar from BYLAER to the specific one.
4.11. Control the Display of Overlapped
Objects
Control how overlapping objects and some other objects are displayed and plotted.
4.11.1. Polylines, Hatches, Gradient Fills, Lineweights, and Text
You can simplify the display of certain kinds of objects, such as wide polylines, donuts, solid-filled
polygons (2D solids), hatches, gradient fills and text, to imp
rove the display performance and speed up
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of creating test plots.
Turning Fill on and off
You can reduce the time it takes to display or print a drawing by turning off the display of solid fill. When
Fill is turned off, all filled entities, such as wide polylines and planes, display and print as outlines. When
you turn Fill on or off, you must redraw the drawing before the change is displayed.
To turn Fill on or off
1. Choose Tools > Options from the main menu.
2. Click the Display tab.
3. Under Display Performance, select or clear the Apply Solid Fill checkbox.
4. Choose View > Redraw from the main menu.
Use Quick Text
If a drawing contains a lot of text using complex fonts, only a rectangular frame defining the text is
displayed or plotted when you turn on Quick Text mode.
Text entities require a considerable amount of time to display and print. You can reduce the time it takes
to display or print a drawing by enabling Quick Text. For example, if you're doin
g a preliminary check
print of a drawing, you may want to turn Quick Text on to speed up printing. When Quick Text is enabled,
text entities are replaced by rectangular boxes that indicate the outline of th e area occupied by the text.
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When you turn Quick Text on or off, you must regenerate the drawing before the change is displayed.
To turn Quick Text on and off
1. Choose Tools > Options from the main menu.
2. Click the Display tab.
3. Under Display Performance, select or clear the Show Text Boundary Frame Only
check box.
4. Click OK.
To regenerate your drawing, do one of the following:
1. Choose View > Regen from the main menu.
2. Type REGEN on the command line and then press Enter.
Controlling the display of lineweights
You can reduce the time it takes to display a drawing by turning off the display of lineweights.
When you turn off lineweights, all entities display as outlines. You can also specify a lineweight scale.
Specify a smaller scale to display thinn
er lines; specify a larger scale to display thicker lines. For example,
a scale factor of 0.5 would display a .80 millimeter lineweight as .40 millimeter; a scale factor of 2 would
increase the same lineweight to display at 1.6 millimeters. This can help you differentiate various
lineweights that display in a drawing. Adjusting the lineweight display scale affects how the lineweights
appear on your screen, not how they appear when printed.
NOTE Setting the lineweight scale too high may result in slower system performance.
You can also adjust the units for measuring lineweights and the default lineweight.
To control the display of lineweights
1. Choose Format > Lineweight from the main menu.
2. In Units for Listing, choose Millimeters or Inches.
3. In Default, select the lineweight assigned to layers and entities that use the Default
lineweight.
4. In Adjust Display Scale, move the slider to the scale you want. By default, the slider
begins at 1.00.
5. Click OK.
TIP On the status bar, c
lick the Show/Hide Lineweight button to turn the display of lineweights on or
off.
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Update the Display
New objects automatically apply the current settings to displays of solid fill and text. Except for
lineweights, you must use the REGEN command to update the display of existing objects.
4.11.2. Control How Overlapping Objects Are Displayed
By default, newly created objects are in front of existing objects; all objects are displayed in the order
they are created. To change the draw order, use DRAWORDER command.
Note changing draw order is available only within the same space.
4.12. Extract and Calculate Geometric
Information from Objects
Information about objects in your drawing is allowed to inquire by means of performing inquiry and
calculation commands, you can also make useful calculations, such as area and circumference calculation.
4.12.1. Calculate Areas
You can calculate the area and perimeter of a polygon based on a series of points you specify or en
close
with a circle or closed polyline. You can also determine the area of several combined objects and add or
subtract the area of one or more objects from a total combined area.
Calculating areas defined by points
You can find the area and perimeter of any closed region by specifying a series of points. The program
calculates the area and perimeter of the space that is enclosed by an imaginary polygon consisting of
straight line segments connecting each point.
To calculate the area defined by points you specify
1. Choose Tools > Inquiry > Area from the main menu.
2. Specify the first point.
3. Specify the second point.
4. Continue specifying points in sequence to define the perimeter of the area you
want to measure.
5. To complete the selection, press Enter.
6. The area and perimeter of the region you defined are displayed.
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Select the points (A, B, C) that form a polygon. The area and perimeter of the region are then calculated.
Calculating areas of closed ob
jects
You can find the area of any closed object. In addition, the program calculates either the circumference
or the perimeter of the object, depending on the type of object you select.
To calculate the area of a closed object
1. Choose Tools > Inquiry > Area from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type o (object).
3. Select the closed object.
Calculating combined areas
You can find the total area of several combined regions by specifying points or by selecting objects. You
can also subtract the areas of objects or polygons from a running total.
To add areas to calculate a combined area
1. Choose Tools > Inquiry > Area from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type a (add).
3. Using one of the following methods, identify the first area:
4. Specify points defining a polygon, and then press Enter.
5. Type o (object), select the objects you want to add and then press Enter to
complete the selection.
6. To complete the command, press Enter.
To subtract areas when calculating a comb
ined area
1. Choose Tools > Inquiry > Area from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type a (add).
3. Using one of the following methods, identify the first area:
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4. Specify points defining a polygon, and then press Enter.
5. Type o (object), select the objects you want to add and then press Enter to
complete the selection.
6. On the command line, type s (subtract).
7. Using one of the following methods, identify the area to be subtracted:
8. Specify points defining a polygon, and then press Enter.
9. Type o (object), select the objects you want to subtract and then press Enter to
complete the selection.
10. To complete the command, press Enter.
To calculate the area of the gasket using the Area command, first, add the area of the entire gasket (A), and then
subtract the areas of the two circles (B and C)
4.12.2. Calculate Distances and Angles
You can calculate the distance between any two points you select. The following information is displayed:
•
•
Th
e distance between the points, measured in drawing units.
Their angle in the xy plane.
•
•
Their angle measured from the xy plane.
The change (delta) in the x, y, and z distances between the two points.
To calculate the distance between two points and their angle
1. Choose Tools > Inquiry > Distance from the main menu.
2. Specify the first point.
3. Specify the second point.
Use the Distance command to calculate the distance (A) between two points (B and C), the angle in the xy plane (D),
the angle from the xy plane, and the delta x (E), delta y (F), and delta z distance between the two points.
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TIP To use specific points on selected objects, use object snaps to select the precise points on the objects.
4.12.3. Display Information about Your Drawing
You can display a variety of information about a drawing and the objects it contains, including:
•
Information in the drawing database about selected objects.
•
•
The current drawing status.
The time
spent working on the drawing.
•
This information is displayed in the Prompt History window and in the command bar.
Displaying information about objects
You can display information about the selected objects. The information varies, depending on the type
of objects you select. All of the listings display the following information:
•
Object type.
•
•
Layer.
Color.
•
•
Linetype.
The location of the object (its XYZ coordinates relative to the current user coordinate system
[UCS]).
•
The current space (model space on the Model tab or paper space on a Layout tab).
•
The size of the object (the information varies, depending on the object type).
To display information about an object
1. Choose Tools > Inquiry > List from the main menu.
2. Select one or more objects.
3. Press Enter.
TIP To return to the drawing window, press F2.
Displaying the drawing status
You can display information about the current status of a drawing, including:
•
•
Drawing name.
Limits.
•
•
Insertion base point.
Snap and grid settings.
•
•
Current layer, color, and linetype.
Current settings for various modes (fill, grid, orthogonal, snap, blips, and so on).
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To display the drawing status
1. Choose Tools > Inquiry > Status from the main menu.
Tracking time spent working on a drawing
You can display information about the amount of time you have spent working on a drawing, including:
•
•
The date and time the drawing was created.
The date and time the drawing was most recently saved.
•
•
The total amount of time spent working on the drawing.
The time spent working on the drawing during the current editing session. You can turn the
elapsed time timer on and off or reset it to zero.
To display the timer information
1. Choose Tools > Inquiry > Time from the main menu.
2. You can do one of the following:
3. Type on to turn the elapsed the timer on.
4. Type off to turn the elapsed the timer off.
5. Type “d” (display) to red
isplay the timer information.
6. Type “r” (reset) to reset the elapsed timer to zero.
7. Press Enter to exit the command.
4.13. Specify Intervals on Objects
You can divide a line, arc, circle, polyline, ellipse, or spline into a number of equal segments or mark off
intervals of a specific length along an object. (Note that divide is not the same as break.) For example,
you may want to place station-point markers every 50 feet along the centerline of a roadway or divide
the plan view of a window into three equal width sections of glass, placing a mullion at each division
point.
To specify measurements and divisions, use these commands:
•
•
For the length of the segments, use the Measure command.
For the number of equal length segments, use the Divide command.
You can measure or divide arcs, circles, lines, polylines, ellipses, and splines. With either command, you
can identify the segments by placing either a block or point object at the end of each interval. If you use
point
s, you can snap to the ends of intervals using the point object snap. The appearance of the point
object is determined by the current point display type, which you control in the Point Style dialog box of
Format menu.
To use a block as the marker, the block must already be defined in the current drawing. You can further
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indicate whether to rotate the block to align perpendicularly to the object you are measuring or divid ing.
Block not aligned with object
Block aligned with the object
ZWCAD begins measuring or dividing based on the point at which you select the object and the type of
object with which you are working. For most objects, measuring starts from the endpoint closest to the
point you used to select the object.
The starting point for measurements or divisions depends on the selected object type. Generally, it
includes the following cases:
•
For lines or open polylines, the starting point is the endpoint that is closest to the selection point.
•
•
For closed polylines, the starting point is the polyline start point.
For circles, it is at the angle from the center point which is equivalent to the current snap angle.
For example, if the snap angle is set to 0, the circle starts at the three o'clock position and
continues counterclockwise.
By default, the point marker is displayed as a single dot, and you may not be able to the measured
intervals. You can change the appearance of point markers using system variable PDMODE. In addition,
you can change the style of point markers in the Point Style dialog box with the DDPTYPE command.
And the system variable PDSIZE controls the size of point markers.
4.13.1. Divide an Object into Equal Segments
Places point markers on selected objects. The markers divide the selected objects into a specified number
of equal lengths. The objects that can be separated include lines, arcs, circles, ellipses, splines, and
polylines. Actually, this operation does not separate the object; it only id
entifies the location of divisions
so that you can use them as geometric reference points.
To divide an object into segments and mark them using point objects
1. Choose Draw > Point > Divide from the main menu.
2. Select the object.
3. Specify the number of segments, and then press Enter.
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Left: When you select the object by pointing, divisions are marked beginning from the end closest to the point at
which you select the object (A)
Right: Blocks or point objects (B) are placed along the object to mark it in equal intervals
To divide an object into segments and mark them using blocks
1. Choose Draw > Point > Divide from the main menu.
2. Select the object.
3. On the command line, type b (block).
4. Type the name of the block you want to insert as the marker.
5. Enter y to align the blocks with the measured object. Enter n to use a rotation angle
of 0 degrees.
6. Specify the number of segments, and then press Enter.
4.13.2. Specify Measured Intervals on Objects
Use MEASURE to mark an object at specified intervals with either points or blocks. The last segment
of a measured object may be shorter than the interval you specify.
To measure intervals along an object and mark them using point objects
1. Choose Draw > Point > Measure from the main menu.
2. Select the object.
3. Specify the segment length, and then press Enter.
Left: When you select the object by pointing, intervals are measured from the end closest to the point at which you
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select the object (A)
Right: Blocks or point objects (B) are placed along the object at the specified interval
To measure intervals along an object and mark them using blocks
1. Choose Draw > Point > Measure from the main menu.
2. Select the object.
3. On the command line, type b (block).
4. Type the name of the block you want to insert as the marker.
5. Enter y to align the blocks with the measured object. Enter n to use a rotation angle
of 0 degrees.
6. Specify the segment length, and
then press Enter.
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5. Coordinates
and
Coordinate
System
5.1. Coordinates
When a command prompts you for a point, you can specify a point in a drawing using a mouse or other
pointing devices, or you can enter a coordinate value at the command prompt. Coordinate values include
2D coordinate and 3D coordinate values. You can type 2D coordinate as either Cartesian (X, Y) or polar
coordinates. You can also locate points with Cartesian, cylindrical or spherical coordinates.
A Cartesian coordinate system has three axes of X, Y, and Z. Different coordinate systems (2D or 3D)
determine different coordinate representation ((x, y) or (x, y, z)). A coordinate value indicates the point's
distance (in units) and its direction along the X, Y and Z axes relative to the coordinate system origin (0,
0) or (0, 0, 0). In addition, you can type a relative coordinate by moving the cursor to specify a direction
and then entering a distance directly.
With both polar and Cartesian coo
rdinates, you can type absolute coordinates based on the origin, or
relative coordinates based on the last point specified.
The coordinate can be measured in scientific, decimal, engineering, architectural, or fractional notation.
And the angle can be measured in grads, radians, surveyor's units, or degrees, minutes, and seconds. You
can control these unit formats in "Drawing Units" dialog box.
5.1.1.
Display Coordinates on the Status Bar
ZWCAD displays the current cursor location as a coordinate on the status bar at the bottom of the
ZWCAD window.
System variable COORDS controls the types of coordinate display.
•
When COORDS is set to 0, updates only when you specify a point.
•
•
When COORDS is set to 1, updates as you move the cursor.
When COORDS is set to 2, updates absolute coordinate as you move the cursor, and displays
the angle from the last point when prompt for distance and angle; this option is available only
when you create lines or other objects that prompt for
more than one point.
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5.1.2.
Dynamic Input
Dynamic input provides a command interface near the cursor in the drawing area, it consist of pointer
input, dimension input, and dynamic prompts When the dynamic input is turned on, a tooltip displays
dynamically updated information near the cursor. You can specify options and values in the tooltip box
when a command is in progress.
Dynamic Input
5.1.3.
Enter 2D Coordinates
When working in two dimensions, you specify points on the xy plane. You can specify any point as an
absolute coordinate (or Cartesian coordinate), using the exact x coordinate and y coordinate locations
relative to the origin (the (0,0) coordinate point at which the two axes intersect), or as a relative coordinate
in relation to the previous point. You can also specify points using relative or absolute polar coordinates,
which locate a point using a distance and an angle.
Entering absolute Cartesian coordinates
The 2D plane is an XY plane, al
so called construction plane. The 2D plane is similar to a flat sheet of
grid paper. If you want to use Cartesian coordinate values to specify a point, enter an X value and Y value
separated by a comma (X, Y). The X value of a Cartesian coordinate is the positive or negative distance,
in units, along with the X-axis. The Y value of a Cartesian coordinate is the positive or negative distance,
in units, along with the Y-axis. The origin (0, 0) indicates where the X, Y axes intersect.
To enter absolute Cartesian coordinates, type the coordinate location of the point in the command bar.
For example, to use absolute Cartesian coordinates to draw a line from the origin (0,0) to a point 3 units
to the right and 1 unit above the origin, start the Line command and respond to the prompts as follows:
Specify the first point: 0,0
Specify the next point or [Angle/Length/Undo]: @3,1
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Drawing a line using the absolute Cartesian coordinate method.
Entering relative Cartesian co
ordinates
Another simpler method is to use relative Cartesian coordinates: you specify a location in the drawing
by determining its position relative to the last coordinate you specified. To use relative Cartesian
coordinates, type the coordinate values in the command bar, preceded by the at symbol (@). The
coordinate pair following the @ symbol represents the distance along the x-axis and the y-axis to the
next point. For example, to draw an 8.5 unit square with its lower left corner at (4,5) using relative
Cartesian coordinates, start the Line command, and then respond to the prompts as follows:
Specify the next point or [Angle/Length/Undo]: @8.5,0
Specify the next point or [Angle/Length/Undo]: @0,8.5
Specify the next point or [Angle/Length/Close/Undo]: @ -8.5,0
Specify the next point or [Angle/Length/Close/Undo]: C
Drawing a square using the relative Cartesian coordinates method; enter C to close.
The first relative coordinate (@8.5,0) locates the new point 8.5 units to the right
(along with the x-axis)
from the previous point of (4,5); the second relative coordinate (@0,8.5) locates to the next point 8.5
units above (along with the y-axis) the previous point, and so on. Entering C (for Close) draws the final
line segment back to the first point specified when you started the Line command.
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Entering polar coordinates
Using relative polar coordinates makes drawing a square tilted at a 45-degree angle a simple task. Polar
coordinates base the location of a point on a distance and angle from either the origin (absolute coordinate)
or from the previous point (relative coordinate).
To specify polar coordinates, type a distance and an angle, separated by the open angle bracket (<). For
example, to use relative polar coordinates to specify a point 1 unit away from the previous point and at
an angle of 45 degrees, type @1<45.
To draw the square from the example in the previous section, "Entering relative Cartesian coordinates",
this time tilted at
a 45-degree angle, start the Line command, and then respond to the prompts as follows:
Specify the next point or [Angle/Length/Undo]: @4,5
Specify the next point or [Angle/Length/Undo]: @8.5<45
Specify the next point or [Angle/Length/Close/Undo]: @8.5<315
Specify the next point or [Angle/Length/Close/Undo]: @8.5<225
Specify the next point or [Angle/Length/Close/Undo]: C
Drawing a tilted square using the relative polar coordinates method; enter C to close.
NOTE Angles increase counterclockwise or decrease clockwise. Thus, an angle of 315 degrees is the
same as 45 degrees.
5.1.4.
Use Three-dimensional Coordinates
Specifying coordinates in three-dimensional space is similar to working in two dimensions, except that
you also use the z-axis to locate coordinates. Three-dimensional coordinates are represented in the format
x,y,z (2,3,6).
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Using the right-hand rule
To visualize how ZWCAD works with three-dimensional space, use a technique known as the right-hand
r
ule. Hold up your right hand in a loose fist with your palm facing you. Extend your thumb in the direction
of the positive x-axis and your index finger upward in the direction of the positive y-axis. Then extend
your middle finger straight toward you in the direction of the z-axis. These three fingers are now pointing
in the positive x, y, and z directions, respectively.
You can also use the right-hand rule to determine the positive rotation direction. Point your thumb in the
positive direction of the axis about which you want to rotate, and then curl the rest of your fingers toward
your palm. These fingers are curling in the positive rotation direction.
The right-hand rule helps you determine the positive direction of the x, y, and z-axes and the positive rotation
direction.
Entering x,y,z coordinates
When working in three dimensions, you can specify x,y,z coordinates as absolute distances in relation to
the origin (the (0,0,0) coordinate point at which the three axes intersect) or
as relative coordinates based
on the last point selected. For example, to specify the coordinate (3,4,2), just specify a point 3 units along
the positive x-axis, 4 units along the positive y-axis, and 2 units along the positive z-axis.
Entering spherical coordinates
When working in three-dimensional space, you can use spherical coordinates to specify a threedimensional point by entering its distance from either the origin (absolute distance) or the last point
(relative distance), along with its angle in the xy plane and its angle up from the xy plan e. In spherical
format, you separate each angle with the open angle bracket (<). You can enter the coordinate values
using the following format: X < [angle from X axis] < [angle from XY plane]
Thus, to draw a line from the origin to a point 10.2500 drawing units away, at an angle of 45 degrees
from the x-axis and 35 degrees from the xy plane, start the Line command, and then respond to the
prompts as follows:
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Command
: LINE
Specify the first point: 0,0,0
Specify the next point or [Angle/Length/Undo]: 10.2500<45<35
When you draw a line from a start point (A) to an endpoint (B) using spherical coordinates, you specify its length (C,
in this case, 10.2500 units), the angle in the xy plane (D, in this case, 45 degrees), and the angle from the xy plane
(E, in this case 35 degrees).
Entering cylindrical coordinates
When working in three-dimensional space, you can also use cylindrical coordinates to specify a threedimensional point. You specify a point by entering its distance from either the origin (absolute distance)
or the last point (relative distance), its angle in the xy plane, and its z coordinate value.
In cylindrical format, you separate the distance and angle with the open angle bracket (<) and separate
the angle and z value with a comma. For example, to draw a line from the last point to a point 7.4750
units away, at an angle of 27 degrees from the x-axis in the xy plane and 3 units up in the
z-direction,
start the Line command, and then respond to the prompts as follows:
Specify the first point: Press ENTER
Specify the next point or [Angle/Length/Undo]: @7.4750<27,3
When you draw a line from a start point (A) to an endpoint (B) using cylindrical coordinates, you specify its length
(C, in this case 7.4750), the angle in the xy plane (D, in this case 27 degrees), and the distance in the z-direction (E,
in this case 3 units).
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5.1.5.
Use Coordinate Filters
Point filters provide a method of locating a point in a drawing relative to another point without specifying
the entire coordinate. Using a point filter, you can enter partial coordinates, and then the program prompts
you for the remaining coordinate information. To use XYZ point filters, respond to the prompt for a
coordinate with a filter in the following form:
.coordinate
Where coordinate is one or more of the letters x, y, and z. The program then prompts you for the filtered
coordinate(s). Fo
r example, if you type .xy, the program prompts you to select a point whose xy
coordinate you want and then prompts you for the z coordinate. The filters .x, .y, .z, .xy, .xz, and .yz are
all valid filters.
Using point filters in two dimensions
You can use point filters when you work in two dimensions to locate points in relation to existing entities.
For example, to draw a circle centered in a rectangle, start the Circle command, and then respond to the
prompts as follows:
CIRCLE
Specify the center point of circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tangency tangency
radius)]: .y
Select Y of: mid
MidPoint
Still need XZ of: mid
MidPoint
Specify circle radius or [Diameter]:
You can use point filters to center the circle by separately selecting the midpoints of two sides of the rectangle (A
and B) and then specifying its radius.
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Using point filters in three dimensions
You can use point filters when you work in three-dimensional space to locate points in two dimensions
and then spec
ify the z coordinate as the elevation above the xy plane. For example, to begin drawing a
line from a point with a z coordinate 3 units above the center of a circle, insert the circle, and then start
the Line command and respond to the prompts as follows:
Command: C
CIRCLE
Specify the center point of circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tangency tangency
radius)]: .xy
Select XY of: cen
CenterPoint
Still need Z of: 3,17.6273
You can use point filters to draw a line by first selecting a point in the xy plane (A), specifying the z coordinate (B),
and then specifying the length of line (C).
5.2. Control the User Coordinate System
Coordinate System
Many commands in ZWCAD require that you specify points as you draw or modify entities.
You can do so by selecting points with the mouse or by typing coordinate values in the command bar.
The program locates points in a drawing using a Cartesian coordinate system.
Understanding how coordinate systems work
The Cartesian coordinate system uses three perpendicul
ar axes —x, y, and z—to specify points in threedimensional space. Every location in a drawing can be represented as a point relative to a (0,0,0)
coordinate point, referred to as the origin. To draw a two-dimensional entity, you specify horizontal
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coordinate positions along the x-axis and vertical coordinate positions along the y-axis. Thus, every point
on a plane can be represented as a coordinate pair composed of an x coordinate and a y coordinate.
Positive coordinates are located above and to the right of the origin; negative coordinates are located to
the left and below the origin.
The three perpendicular axes of the Cartesian coordinate system
When you work in two dimensions, you need enter only the x and y coordinates; the program assumes
that the z-axis value is always the current elevation. When you work in three dimensions, however, you
must also specify the z-axis value. When you look at a plan view of your drawing (a view from above,
looking dow
n), the z-axis extends straight up out of the screen at a 90-degree angle to the xy plane.
Positive coordinates are located above the xy plane, and negative coordinates are below the plane.
All ZWCAD drawings use a fixed coordinate system, called the World Coordinate System (WCS), and
every point in a drawing has a specific x,y,z coordinate in the WCS. You can also define arbitrary
coordinate systems located anywhere in three-dimensional space. These are called user coordinate
systems and can be located anywhere in the WCS and oriented in any direction.
You can create as many user coordinate systems as you want, saving or redefining them to help you
construct three-dimensional entities. By defining a UCS within the WCS, you can simplify the creation
of most three-dimensional entities into combinations of two-dimensional entities.
To help you keep your bearings in the current coordinate system, the program displays a coordinate
system icon. When you begin a new drawing, you are automati
cally in the WCS, indicated by the letter
W in the icon. When you display a drawing in plan view, you see the coordinate system icon from the
top, with the z-axis directed straight toward you. When you display a three-dimensional drawing in a
view other than plan view, the coordinate system icon changes to reflect your new viewpoint.
TIP The visible portions of the axes are the positive directions.
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WCS icon
Plan UCS icon
3D View WCS icon
Understanding how coordinates are displayed
The current position of the cursor is displayed as x,y,z coordinates in the status bar and, by default,
updates dynamically as you move the cursor. You can toggle the coordinate display to the static mode by
pressing F6 so that it updates only when you select a point in the drawing.
5.2.1.
Control the User Coordinate System in 3D
When working in three-dimensional space, you can define a UCS with its own (0,0,0) origin and
orientation separate from the WCS. You can create as many
user coordinate systems as you want and
then save and recall them as you need them to simplify the construction of three-dimensional entities.
For example, you can create a separate UCS for each side of a building. Then, by switching to the UCS
for the east side of the building, you can draw the windows on that side by specifying only their x and y
coordinates. When you create one or more user coordinate systems, the coordinate entry is based on the
current UCS.
UCS aligned with the front wall of the house
To define a UCS, you can use any of the following methods:
•
Specify a new origin and points on the positive x and y-axes.
•
•
Specify a new origin and point on the positive z-axis.
Align the UCS with an existing entity.
•
•
Rotate the current UCS around any of its axes.
Align the UCS with its z-axis parallel to the current viewing direction.
•
•
Align the UCS xy plane perpendicular to the current view.
When you define a new UCS, the UCS icon changes to indicat
e the origin and orientation of
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the new UCS.
To define a UCS by specifying a new origin and points on the positive x and y-axes
1. Choose Tools > New UCS > 3 Point from the main menu.
2. Specify a new original point.
3. Specify a point on the positive x-axis.
4. Specify a point on the positive y-axis.
Define the new UCS by selecting the origin (A), a point on the positive x-axis (B), and a point in the positive y
direction (C)
5.2.2.
Define and Name User Coordinate Systems
A drawing can contain as many coordinate systems as you want and can be named appropriate names so
you can remember how they are used in your drawing for recalling them later.
NOTE Coordinate system names created or renamed in ZWCAD can have up to 31 characters and
cannot include spaces. ZWCAD will, however, display longer coordinate system names and names
containing spaces.
Define new user coordinate systems
1. Choose Tools > New UCS from the main menu.
2. Choose which type for creating
UCS.
3. Create UCS depending on the prompts.
To change a user coordinate system name in the current drawing
1. Choose Tools > Named UCS from the main menu.
2. Right-click the desired UCS name, and then select Rename from the shortcut menu
that pops up.
3. Type a new name.
4. Click OK.
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5.2.3.
Set the Current User Coordinate System
When you draw new objects, they are created in relation to the current coordinate system.
Set the current UCS
1. Choose Tools > Named UCS from the main menu.
2. Select the desired UCS, and then click the Set Current button.
3. Click OK.
5.2.4.
Use UCS Presets
ZWCAD lets you select a preset UCS. The six planes defined by looking along the x,y, z-axes align the
UCS with the top, left, front, bottom, right, or back, based on either the WCS or the current UCS in effect
when you select the tool. You can also select the previous UCS, align the UCS to the current view, or
select the WCS.
When you select a UCS, the cursor orientation and
UCS icon change to reflect the new UCS.
The display does not change, however, unless you select the Change View To Plan View Of The Selected
UCS check box.
After you align the UCS to a preset UCS, you can use "Named UCS" from the Tools menu to save the
current UCS.
To select a preset UCS
1. Choose Tools > Named UCS from the main menu.
2. Switch to Orthographic UCS tab, select the desired UCS, and then click the Set
Current button.
3. Click OK.
5.2.5.
Control the User Coordinate System
You can use the user coordinate system for convenient coordinate entry and establish drawing planes.
Control the User Coordinate System (UCS) in 2D
In ZWCAD, there are two coordinate systems: world coordinate system (WCS) and user coordinate
system (UCS). WCS is a fixed coordinate system, where the X axis is horizontal and the Y axis is vertical.
The origin (0, 0) is the intersection of the X and Y axes in the lower-left corner of the drawing. You can
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define a UCS based on a W
CS. UCS can be moved, which helps you modify particular sections of your
drawing easily. At the same time, you can rotate UCS to specify points in 3D or rotated views. When you
rotate UCS, Snap, Grid, and Ortho modes all rotate in line with the new UCS.
Actually, you enter a coordinate value in the current UCS. There are several methods for relocating UCS,
shown as follows:
•
Move the UCS by defining a new origin.
•
•
Align the UCS with an existing object or with the current viewing direction.
Rotate the current UCS around any of its axes.
•
Restore a saved UCS.
You can name a defined UCS and then restore it when needed. The UCS Previous option can reverse up
to last 10 coordinate systems in the current session. You can delete a named UCS whenever you do not
need it. A UCS can also be restored to coincide with the WCS.
Use World and User Coordinate Systems in 3D
It is helpful for creating a 3D model by controlling the UCS.
Use World and User Coordinate Systems
In 3D spa
ce, there is both a fixed WCS and a movable UCS.
When you work in 3D, the movable UCS can help you enter coordinate, establish drawing planes, and
set views easily. Neither moving nor rotating UCS changes your viewport. The only changes are the
orientation and tilt of the coordinate system.
When you work in 3D, you can simplify the creation of 3D objects by relocating the UCS. To relocate
the UCS, change the location of the origin point and the orientation of the XY plane and the Z axis. In
3D space, you can locate and orient a UCS anywhere.
Only one UCS can be made the current coordinate system at any given time, and all coordinate input and
display are relative to the current UCS. If you open multiple viewports, the current UCS applies to all of
them. If the system variable UCSVP is on, you can save a UCS along with a viewport, and automatically
restore the UCS each time when you make the viewport current.
To draw in 3D space, you need to specify X, Y, and Z coordinate value in eithe
r the WCS or UCS. The
following figure displays the X, Y, and Z axes of the WCS.
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Generally, the WCS and the UCS are coincident with each other, which means that their axes and origin
points are overlapped exactly. No matter how many times you relocate the UCS, you can always use the
World option of the UCS command to make it coincident with the WCS.
Control the User Coordinate System in 3D
You can relocate the UCS by changing the location of the origin point and the orientation of the XY
plane and the Z axis. In 3D space, you can locate and orient a UCS anywhere. In addition, you can define,
save, and recall as many UCSs as you like. Both entering coordinate and drawing are processed in the
current UCS.
With the UCS's relocation, you can acquire the exact placement of a 3D point by aligning the coordinate
system with existing geometry.
In the current session, if multiple viewports are active, you can assign a different UCS to each viewport.
If the system varia
ble UCSVP is on, you can save a UCS along with a viewport, and automatically restore
the UCS each time when you make the viewport current. When the system variable UCSVP is on, each
UCS may have a different origin and orientation dependent on the construction.
Define the UCS Location
You can define a UCS in several ways:
•
•
Specify a new origin, new XY plane, or new Z axis.
Align the new UCS with an existing object.
•
•
Align the new UCS with the current viewing direction.
Rotate the current UCS around any of its axes.
•
•
Apply a new Z-depth to an existing UCS.
Apply a UCS by selecting a face.
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Use UCS Presets
On the Orthographic UCS tab of the UCS dialog box, the system lists several preset coordinate systems,
from which you can choose the desired one.
After specifying a UCS, you can control whether choosing a preset option shifts the UCS relative to the
current UCS orientation or relative to the default WCS. If you use the Restore, World, o
r Previous option
of the UCS command, the settings you made are not available.
Change the Default Elevation
The CHANGE command is used to specify an elevation and thickness of extrusion for a new object. You
can define a drawing plane of the current UCS by establishing the current elevation, which can be applied
to individual viewports in conjunction with the system variable UCSVP. Whether a UCS is saved or
restored in each viewport are determined by this variable. When UCSVP is set to 1, the different UCS
settings are saved in individual viewports, and the elevation settings are saved along with each viewport
both in model space and in paper space layouts.
Generally, the elevation is set to 0, and you can control the XY plane of the current UCS using UCS
command.
Change the UCS in Paper Space
Just as you define a new UCS in model space, you can also define a new UCS in paper space; however,
the UCSs in paper space is only available for 2D manipulation. Although you can enter 3D coor
dinates
in paper space, 3D viewing commands are not available, such as PLAN and VPOINT.
The system can store the last 10 coordinate systems that were created in model space and the last 10 in
paper space, and you can restore to the desired one using the Previous option of the UCS command.
Save and Restore UCS Locations by Name
You can save named UCS locations, each having a different origin and orientation, for various
construction requirements. You can relocate, save, and recall as many UCS orientations as you require.
Assign User Coordinate System Orientations to Viewports
You can create multiple viewports to display different views of your model. For example, you can specify
top, front, right side, and isometric views for viewports. You can also define a different UCS for each
view to facilitate modifying objects in different views. When you make a viewport current, you can use
the same UCS you used the last time that the viewport was current.
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The system va
riable UCSVP controls the UCS in each viewport. When UCSVP is on in a viewport, the
system saves the viewport with the UCS last used in that viewport and restores the UCS as the viewport
is made current again. When UCSVP is set to 0 in a viewport, its UCS is coincident with the UCS in the
current viewport.
For example, you can set up three viewports: a top view, front view, and isometric view. If UCSVP is set
to 0 in the isometric viewport, the Top UCS can be applied to both the top viewport and the isometric
viewport. When the top viewport is made current, the isometric viewport's UCS reflects the UCS top
viewport. Likewise, if you make the front viewport current, the isometric viewport's UCS is switched to
match that of the front viewport.
The following figure indicates the instance illustrated above. In which the drawing 1 reflects isometric
viewport of top-left or top viewports in current UCS.
The second figure shows the change that occurs when the lower-left, or front, the viewpo
rt is made
current. The UCS in the isometric viewport is updated to reflect the UCS of the front viewport.
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Control the Display of the User Coordinate System Icon
By default, the UCS icon is displayed in the lower-left corner of the current viewport, which indicates
the location and orientation of the current UCS. You can also control whether the UCS icon is displayed
at the origin point. There are two types of UCS icons: 2D icon and 3D icon.
Displaying 2D or 3D UCS icon is controlled by the UCSICON command. Yo u can display the UCS icon
at the UCS origin point to indicate the origin and orientation of the current UCS using the UCSICON
command.
A cross is displayed in the icon if the UCS icon is displayed at the corner of the current UCS; otherwise,
there is no cross in the icon.
If the drawing area has multiple viewports, each viewport displays its own UCS icon.
There are various ways of displaying the UCS icon, shown as follows, which help you visualize the
o
rientation of the drawing plane.
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The UCSICON can also change the size and color of the UCS icon.
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6. Create Objects
6.1. Draw Linear Objects
Draw linear objects, like a line, the most basic object, can be one segment or a series of connected
segments.
6.1.1.
Lines
A line consists of two points: a start point and an endpoint. You can connect a series of lines, but each
line segment is considered a separate line object.
To draw a line
1. Choose Draw > Line from the main menu.
2. Specify the start point.
3. Complete the first line segment by specifying the endpoint. To undo the previous
line segment during the Line command, enter u (undo) and then press ENTER.
Specify the endpoints of any additional line segments.
4. Press Enter to complete the command.
5. To start a new line at the endpoint of the last line drawn, start the Line command
again and press Enter directly at the "Specify first point:" prompt.
Start point (A) and endpoint (B
).
If the last object you drew was an arc, you can also draw a line connect to and starting from the endpoint
of the arc.
To draw a line as a continuation from the end of an arc
1. Choose Draw > Line from the main menu.
2. Take the end of an arc as the start point of the line.
3. Specify the length of the line.
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The endpoint of the previous arc (A) and length of the line (B).
6.1.2.
Rays
A ray is a line in three-dimensional space that starts at a point and extends to infinity. Because rays extend
to infinity, they are not calculated as part of the drawing extents. The default method for drawing a ray
is to select the start point of the ray and then specify its direction.
To draw a ray
1. Choose Draw > Ray from the main menu.
2. Specify the start point.
3. Specify the direction.
4. To complete the command, press Enter.
Start point (A) and direction (B).
6.1.3.
Construction Lines
A construction line is a line through a given point, oriented at a specified
angle in three-dimensional
space and extending to infinity in both directions. Because construction lines extend to infinity, they are
not calculated as part of the drawing extents.
The default method for drawing a construction line is to select a point along the line and then specify the
direction of the line. You can draw a construction line in any of th e following ways:
•
Horizontal draws the construction line parallel to the x-axis of the current UCS.
•
•
Vertical draws the construction line parallel to the y-axis of the current UCS.
Angle draws the construction line parallel to a specified angle.
•
•
Bisect draws the construction line perpendicular to an existing object.
Parallel draws the construction line parallel to an existing object.
To draw a construction line
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1. Choose Draw > Construction Line from the main menu.
2. Specify a point along the line.
3. Specify the direction.
4. To complete the command, press Enter.
The point along the
infinite line (A) and the direction (B)
You can also draw a construction line at a specific angle or at an angle relative to an existing object.
6.1.4.
Multiple-Line Objects
Multilines consist of several parallel lines, called elements.
You can determine the position of elements by specifying offset from the origin of each element. By
default, multiline objects contain two elements. You should create and save new multiline styles by
yourself or modify existing mline styles.
Create Multiline Styles
While creating new mlines, you can specify names of the new style together with inherited properties,
and set the amount and properties such as color, linetype, offset and so on for each element directly.
Meanwhile, take into account on whether to fill the background and endcaps. Both lines and arcs are
available for specifying endcaps.
Use Existing Multiline Styles
When you start drawing a multiline, you can use the default style, which has two elements or specifies a
style you created
previously. The default style is the multiline style last used, or the STANDARD style
if MLINE hasn't been used.
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You can also change the justification and scale of the multiline before you draw it.
Justification determines whether the multiline is drawn below or above the cursor, or with its origin
centered on the cursor. The default is below (top justification).
Scale controls the overall width of the multiline using the current units.
If you draw a multiline with the scale of 2, then the width is twice of that defined by the multiline style.
If the scale is set to minus, then draw the multiline in order of reversal offset line: the multi-line with the
largest offset is drawn at the bottom in the way of left-to-right drawing. And the multi-line will be turned
into single line once the scale is set to 0.
If you are changing the multiline scale, you might need to make equivalent changes to linetype scale to
prevent dots or dashes from being disproportionately si
zed.
The multiline scale does not affect the linetype scale.
To draw a multi-line
1. Choose Draw > Multiline from the main menu.
2. Specify the start point.
3. Specify the endpoint.
4. Press Enter to complete the command.
6.1.5.
Polylines
With ZWCAD, a polyline is a connected sequence of arcs and lines that are treated as a single object.
You can draw a polyline with any linetype and use a width that either remains constant or tapers over the
length of any segment. When editing a polyline, you can modify the entire polyline or change individual
segments.
After you specify the start point of a polyline, the command line prompts several options as you draw,
such as Arc, Halfwidth, Length, Undo, and Width. You can specify different starting and ending widths
to create a tapered polyline segment.
After you draw at least one polyline segment, you can use the Undo tool in right click menu to remove
the previous segment. After you draw two or more polyline segments, you can type c (close)
in the
command line to complete the command by drawing a segment that ends at the start point of the first
polyline segment you drew.
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Curved polyline with tapered width.
Polyline with straight segments
Closed polyline
To draw a polyline with straight segments
1. Choose Draw > Polyline from the main menu.
2. Specify the start point.
3. Specify the endpoint of each segment.
4. Press Enter to end or enter c (close) to close the polyline.
Polyline start point (A) and segment endpoints (B).
With the Draw Arc option, you can continually draw arc segments until you select the Draw Line option
to go back to drawing line segments. When you draw arc segments, the first point of the arc is the
endpoint of the previous segment. By default, you draw arc segments by specifying the endpoint of each
segment. Each successive arc segment is drawn a tangent to the previous arc or line segment. If you type
c (close) while in the Draw Arc option, the closing segment is created
as an arc.
You can also specify the arc using any of the following methods:
•
•
Start point, center point, included angle
Start point, center point, chord length
•
•
Start point, center point, endpoint
Start point, endpoint, included angle
•
•
Start point, endpoint, direction
Start point, endpoint, radius
•
•
Center point, start point, endpoint
Center point, start point, included angle
• Center point, start point, chord length
With more unique functions, editing the polyline is different from that of single lines, such as adjusting
width and curvature of polylines; the additional functions are shown as follows:
•
Edit it with PEDIT command
•
Use EXPLODE to convert it to the individual line and arc segments
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•
Use SPLINE to convert a spline-fit polyline into a true spline
•
•
Use closed polylines to create a polygon
Create a polyline from the boundaries of overlapping objects
Draw a line and arc combination polyline
Poly
lines consist of multiple lines and arcs. When drawing a polyline, use the endpoint of the previous
line segment as the start point of next arc segment. You can specify angle, center, direction, and radius
of the circle for drawing arcs, and specify a center point and an endpoint as well.
To draw a line segment followed by an arc polyline segment
1. Choose Draw > Polyline from the main menu.
2. Specify the start point.
3. Specify the endpoint.
4. At the command prompt, choose Arc.
5. Specify the endpoint of the arc segment.
6. To complete the command, Press ENTER.
You can edit entire polylines and individual segments using the Edit Polyline tool on the Modify II toolbar.
You can convert polylines into arc and line entities using the Explode tool on the Modify toolbar.
Create Closed Polylines
When creating polylines with PLINE command, the Close option is only available if no less than two
line or arc segments are drawn. A closed polyline object is drawn if you connect the start point
of the
polyline to the endpoint of the last line or arc segment with a line or arc.
Create Wide Polylines
You can draw polylines of various widths by using the Width and Halfwidth options of PLINE command.
The Width and Halfwidth options set the width of the next polyline segments you draw. You can set the
width of individual segments and make them taper gradually from one width to another.
Zero (0) width produces a thin line. Widths greater than zero produce wide lines, which are filled if Fill
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mode is on and outlined if Fill mode is off. The Halfwidth option sets width by specifying the distance
from the center of the wide polyline to an outside edge.
If you chose Width option, prompts in command line require you to enter starting width and ending width.
While entering different value results in a varying width from the start point to its end. Both the start
point and endpoint are located at the center of the Wide polyline.
6.1.6.
Create Polylines from th
e Boundaries of Objects
You can create a polyline from the boundaries of overlapping objects that form a closed area. A polyline
created using the boundary method is a separate object, distinct from the objects used to create it. You
can edit it using the same methods used to edit other polylines.
To expedite the boundary selection process in large or complex drawings, you can specify a group of
boundary candidates, called a boundary set. You create this set by selecting the objects you want to use
define the boundary.
With the Boundary command, you can designate a specific area of a drawing for operations such as
hatching and dimensioning. You create a boundary polyline by selecting an area inside a closed loop.
The area you select can be bounded by a single closed object or by mu ltiple objects that intersect.
In cases where objects intersect, ZWCAD interprets the boundary as the closed loop closest to the point
specifying the area. In the following figure, for example, the area po
int selected in the rectangle results
in a boundary consisting of the closed loop nearest the point selection, as opposed to the closed loop
formed by the rectangle itself.
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Selected point (A)
Resulting boundary (B)
To make boundaries more specific, you can create a boundary set. A boundary set specifies which objects
are considered in determining the boundary path. This can make creating the boundary polyline faster if
you are working with a complex drawing.
In the following figure, the circle and triangle are the selected objects. If you select an area anywhere
inside the circle or the triangle, the result is a polyline that bounds the shaded area.
Left: Selected objects (A and B)
Right: Point specified in the selected area (C), which results in a new boundary around the shaded area.
To draw a boundary polyline
1. Choose Draw > Boundary from the main menu.
2. Specify the objects that you want to be made available for the boundary polyline
by doing one of t
he following:
3. Current viewport - Define a boundary set with all entities in the current viewport.
In addition, if this option is selected, any boundary set currently used will be
canceled.
4. Existing set - Click New button to switch to the drawing area, and prompt users to
select objects for defining boundary sets. Press Enter to return to the dialog box
after selection. This option is only available after selecting objects by using the New
button.
5. Select the Island Detection option.
6. Click Pick Points.
7. In the drawing, click inside the area whose closed perimeter forms the boundary,
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not on the polyline itself. If desired, continue clicking inside additionally closed
perimeters.
8. To complete the selection, press Enter.
9. In the Boundary Creation dialog box, click OK.
6.1.7.
Polygons
Creating polygons is a simple way to draw squares, equilateral triangles, octagons, and so on. Polygons
are closed polylines with between 3 and 1,024 equal-length si
des.
However, you should keep one thing in mind that rectangles are created by RECTANG command rather
than POLYGON.
Variety of ways can be used for creating a polygon, for example, specify the center point or one of its
edges to define a polygon after you have determined the edges of the polygon. If you want to draw a
polygon based on another object, the following methods are provided with some given qualifications:
•
Specifying the radius of an inscribed circle if the distance between the center of the polygon
and the endpoint of each side (inscribed) is known
•
Specifying the radius of a circumscribed circle if the distance between the center of the polygon
and the midpoint of each side (circumscribed) is known
•
Specifying the length of an edge and where you want to place it
To draw a polygon by vertex
1. Choose Draw > Polygon from the main menu.
2. Type 5 to specify five sides of the polygon.
3. Specify the center of the polygon.
4. Specify the vertex of the polygon.
Th
e center (A) and vertex (B)
6.1.8.
Resulting polygon
Rectangles
With ZWCAD, rectangles are closed polylines with four sides. You draw a rectangle by specifying its
opposite corners. The rectangle is normally aligned parallel to the current snap and grid alignment, but
you can use the Rotated option to align the rectangle to any angle.
To draw a rectangle
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1. Choose Draw > Rectangle from the main menu.
2. Specify one corner of the rectangle.
3. Specify the opposite corner of the rectangle.
Opposite corners (A and B)
Resulting rectangle
You can edit each side of a rectangle individually using the Edit Polyline tool on the Modify II toolbar.
You can convert the sides into individual line objects using the Explode tool on the Modify toolbar.
TIP To control the line width of the rectangle, type “w” in the command line, then type the desired value
of line width. After you change the width of the line, the new width setting remains in effect for
subsequent
rectangles until you change it again.
6.1.9.
Points
You can draw a point object formatted as either a single dot or as one of 19 other possible display styles.
To draw a point
1. Choose Draw > Point > Single Point from the main menu.
2. Specify the location of the point.
To draw several points
1. Choose Draw > Point > Multiple Point from the main menu.
2. Specify the location of each point.
Changing the size and appearance of point objects
Changing the size and appearance of point objects affects all point objects already in the drawing, as well
as all points that you subsequently draw. Positive values represent the absolute size of the point object
measured in drawing units. Negative values represent a percentage relative to the drawing screen so that
points retain their visual size as you use the Zoom command to change the magnification of the drawing.
To change the size and appearance of point objects
1. Choose Format > Point Style from the main menu.
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2.
Under Point Style, select the style you want.
3. Under Point Size, specify the point size, or choose one of the options.
4. Click OK.
When you regenerate the drawing, all point objects change to reflect the new size and appearance settings.
6.1.10. Traces
Creating traces using the TRACE command.
The endpoints of a trace are on the center line and are always cut square. TRACE automatically calculates
the correct levels for connection to adjacent segments.
Traces appear solid filled if Fill mode is on. When Fill mode is off, only the outline of a trace is displayed.
6.1.11. Freehand Sketches
A freehand sketch consists of many straight line segments, created either as individual line objects or as
a polyline. Before you begin creating a freehand sketch, you must set the length, or increment, of each
segment. The smaller the segments, the more accurate your sketch, but segments that are too small can
greatly increase the file size.
After you specify the length of the sketch segments, mov
e a pointing device to the drawing area on the
screen and then right-click or enter p (pen) to begin sketching.
Your freehand sketch is not added to the drawing until you "Record" the sketch into your drawing. This
means that you temporarily save the segment that you've drawn and the segment length, and you can't
continue sketching until you select eXit or press Enter.
Create Sketches
The SKETCH command controls the pen using the mouse or the Pen option at th e command prompt.
Move a pointing device to the drawing area on the screen and then right-click or enter p (pen) to begin
sketching. Right-click or enter p (pen) again to lift the pen up and stop drawing.
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You set the minimum length or increment of the segments.
Before sketching, check the CELTYPE system variable to make sure the current linetype is BYLAYER.
If you use a linetype with dots or dashes and set the sketch line segment shorter than the spaces or dashes,
you won't see the spaces or dashes.
To cre
ate a freehand sketch
1. On the command line, enter SKETCH and press Enter.
2. At the "Record increment" prompt, enter the minimum line segment length.
3. Move the cursor to the drawing area, and then right-click or enter p (pen) to begin
sketching. When you move the pointing device, ZWCAD draws temporary freehand line
segments of the length you specified. The sketch doesn't accept coordinate input. During
the command, freehand lines are displayed in a different color.
4. Right-click or enter p (pen) again to lift the pen up and stop drawing, so that you can
move the cursor around the drawing area without drawing.
5. Enter R (Record) at any time to write into the drawing the line you're drawing and
those already drawn. If the pen is moved, you can continue drawing after writing. If the
pen is up, click to resume drawing.
6. Press Enter to complete the sketch and write all lines into the drawing.
Erasing freehand sketch lines
You can erase temporary freehand sketch lines that have not
yet been written into the drawing by
choosing the Erase option at the command prompt. Those lines can be erased by moving the pen along
the path they were drawn.
Once you record freehand lines, you can't edit them or erase them with the Erase option of SKETCH.
Use the ERASE command if you have finished sketching.
To erase freehand sketch lines
1. While running the SKETCH command, enter E. If the pen was down, it moves up.
2. Move the cursor to the end of the line you drew last and then move it back as far
along the line as you want to erase.
3. To end the erasure and return to the sketch Command prompt, enter E. If you want
to change the current viewport while sketching, make sure the pen is up and all
lines were written into the drawing.
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6.2. Draw Curved Objects
6.2.1.
Arcs
An arc is a portion of a circle. The default method for drawing an arc is to specify three points—the start
point, a second point, and the endpoint. You can draw arcs using any of the f
ollowing methods:
•
•
Three points on an arc
Start point, center point, endpoint
•
•
Start point, center point, included angle
Start point, center point, chord length
•
•
Start point, endpoint, included angle
Start point, endpoint, starting direction
•
•
Start point, endpoint, radius
Center point, start point, endpoint
•
•
Center point, start point, included angle
Center point, start point, chord length
•
•
As a tangent continuation of the previous arc or line
Draw Arcs by Specifying Three Points
You can draw an arc by specifying three points, which are separately the start point of the arc, a point
anywhere on the arc and the endpoint of the arc. In the following example, the start point of the arc snaps
to the endpoint of a line. The second point of the arc snaps to the midd le circle in the illustration.
To draw an arc by specifying three points
1. Choose Draw > Arc > 3 Points from the main menu.
2. Specify the start point.
3. Specify the second
point.
4. Specify the endpoint.
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Start point (A), the second point (B), and endpoint (C)
Draw Arcs by Specifying Start, Center, End
Under command line prompts for drawing an arc, draw an arc by specifying center, start point, and
endpoint.
To draw an arc by specifying its start point, center point, and endpoint
1. Choose Draw > Arc > Start, Center, End of the main menu.
2. Specify the start point.
3. Specify the center point.
4. Specify the endpoint.
Start point (A), the center point (B), and endpoint (C)
Draw Arcs by Specifying Start, Center, Angle
Under command line prompts for drawing arcs, draw an arc by specifying a start point and included an
angle.
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The included angle determines the endpoint of the arc. Use the Start, End, Angle method when you know
both endpoints but cannot snap to a center point.
To draw an arc by specifying two points and an included angle
1. Choose Draw > Arc > Start, End, Angle from the main menu.
2. Speci
fy the start point.
3. Specify the endpoint.
4. Specify an included angle. To draw an arc in a counterclockwise direction, enter a
positive value for the included angle. To draw an arc in a clockwise direction, enter
a negative value for the included angle.
Start point (A), endpoint (B), and included an angle (C)
Draw Arcs by Specifying Start, Center, Length
Draw an arc by specifying the center of the arc after picking the start point of the arc, then specify the
length of the arc. Or using the center, start, Length either, which is actually equal to specifying the
included angle.
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Draw Arcs by Specifying Start, End, Direction/Radius
Draw an arc by specifying start, end radius/Direction, enter a length or click a line segment using any
pointing device either clockwise or counterclockwise. If using the second way, move the cursor to direct
the arc upwards or downwards. As the following picture shows, move the cursor downwards to draw an
arc up concaved.
Draw C
ontiguous Arcs and Lines
Immediately after you complete an arc, you can start a line tangent to the arc at an endpoint by executing
the LINE command. Conversely, if you perform the ARC command after you completed a line, you can
start an arc tangent to the line at an endpoint.
You can connect sequentially drawn arcs in the same way. To create connected arcs using a menu, click
Arc from the Draw menu, and then click Continue. In both cases, the resulting object is tangent to the
previous one. You can use the shortcut menu to repeat the Continue option.
To draw an arc tangent to an arc or line
1. Choose Draw > Arc > Continue from the main menu.
2. Specify the endpoint of the tangent arc.
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Endpoint (A)
6.2.2.
Circles
The default method for drawing a circle is to specify a center point and radius.
You can draw circles using any of the following methods:
•
Center, Radius
•
•
Center, Diameter
Two points
•
•
Three points
Tangent, Tangent, Radius
•
Tangent, Tangent, Tangent
To draw a circle by specifying its center and radius
1. Choose Draw > Circle > Center, Radius from the main menu.
2. Specify the center point.
3. Specify the radius of the circle.
Center point (A) and radius (B)
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Draw a Circle Tangent to Other Objects
The tangent point is a point where an object touches another object without intersecting it. To create a
circle that is tangent to other objects, select the objects and then specify the radius of the circle.
You can also turn on the Object Snap mode to set the snap point as Tangent, thus you can create circles
that are tangent with other objects easily, three points method is available for creating circles with three
tangent points.
In the illustrations below, the red circle is the one being drawn, and points 1 and 2 select the objects to
which it is tangent.
To draw a circle tangent to existing objects
1. Choose Draw > Circle > Tan, Tan, Radius from the main menu.
2. Select the first
tangent point on the object to be tangent with the circle.
3. Select the second tangent point on the object to be tangent with the circle.
4. Specify the radius of the circle.
The radius of the circle (A) and tangent lines (B) and (C)
6.2.3.
Ellipses and Ellipse Arcs
Drawing ellipses
The default method for drawing an ellipse is to specify the endpoints of one axis of the ellipse, and then
specify a distance representing half the length of the second axis. The endpoints of the first axis determine
the orientation of the ellipse. The longer axis of the ellipse is called the major axis, and the shorter one
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is the minor axis. The order in which you define the axes does not matter. The program determines the
major and minor axes based on their relative lengths. You can draw ellipses using any of the following
methods:
•
•
Center
Axis, End
To draw an ellipse by specifying the axis and endpoints
1. Choose Draw > Ellipse > Axis, End from the main menu.
2. Spec
ify the first endpoint.
3. Specify the second endpoint.
4. Drag the pointing device away from the midpoint, and click to specify a distance for
half the length of the second axis.
First axis endpoint (A), second axis endpoint (B), and half-length of another axis (C)
Drawing elliptical arcs
An elliptical arc is a portion of an ellipse. The default method for drawing an elliptical arc is to specify
the endpoints of one axis of the ellipse, and then specify a distance representing half the length of the
second axis. Then you specify the start and end angles for the arc, measured from the center of the ellipse
in relation to its major axis.
To draw an elliptical arc by specifying the axis endpoints
1. Choose Draw > Ellipse > Arc from the main menu.
2. Specify the first endpoint.
3. Specify the second endpoint.
4. Specify the half-length of the other axis.
5. Specify the start angle of the arc.
6. Specify the end angle.
NOTE ZWCAD draws elliptical arcs in the direction you specify. Go to
Format > Units menu option,
under Angle tab, the default setting is counterclockwise.
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First axis endpoint (A), second axis endpoint (B), half-length of another axis (C), start angle of arc (D) and end angle
(E)
6.2.4.
Splines
The spline is a smooth curve that passes through a series of control points. You can control the fit
tolerance among the curve and points, and apply the fitness to drawing irregular curves. A NURBS curve
produces a smooth curve between control points.
A NURBS curve produces a smooth curve between control points.
Multiple points are required for drawing irregular splines and you can close the spline so that the start
and end points are coincident and tangent.
Tolerance in command line prompts describes how precisely the spline fits the set of fit points you specify.
The lower the tolerance, the more closely the spline fits the points. If the value is set to 0, the spline curve
passes through the fit point.
If you set the tolerance value
greater than 0, the spline will go through a fit point within the specified
tolerance range.
Usually, two ways of creating splines are provided:
•
Create a spline converted from a polyline using Spline option of PEDIT command.
•
Create a spline using SPLINE command, that is NURBS curve.
To draw a spline
1. Choose Draw > Spline from the main menu.
2. Specify the first point of the spline.
3. Specify the second point of the spline.
4. Specify as many more points as you want.
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5. When you have finished, press Enter.
You can add tangents to the spline, which are lines that give it shape.
1. To add tangents to a spline
2. Specify the starting tangent point.
3. Specify the ending tangent point.
Left: Spline
Right: Spline with starting tangent point (A) and ending tangent point (B)
Specifying fit tolerance
By default, a spline passes through all of the control points. When you draw a spline, you can change
this by specifying the fit tolerance. The fit toleran
ce value determines how closely the spline fits the set
of points you specify. For example, a spline fit tolerance value of 0 causes the spline to pass through the
control points. A value of 0.01 creates a spline that passes through the start and endpoints and within
0.01 units of the intermediate control points.
To specify the fit tolerance
1. Choose Draw > Spline from the main menu.
2. Specify the first point of the spline.
3. Specify the second point of the spline.
4. To accept the default of 0.0000, press Enter. To specify a different fit tolerance,
enter F and press Enter, and then specify a new fit tolerance.
5. Specify the additional points you need to draw a spline or a closed spline.
Drawing a closed spline
You can draw a closed spline, which is a spline for which the start point an d endpoint are the same.
Because the spline is closed, you specify only one tangent.
To draw a closed spline
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1. Choose Draw > Spline from the main menu.
2. Specify the firs
t point of the spline.
3. Specify the second point of the spline.
4. Specify as many more points as you want.
5. When you have finished, on the command line, type C, and press Enter.
6. To complete the command, specify the tangent point.
The start point and endpoint (A) of a closed spline.
6.2.5.
Donuts
Donuts are solid, filled circles or rings created as closed, wide polylines. You can draw a donut using
several ways. The default method is to specify the inside and outside diameters of the donut and then
specify its center. You can then create multiple copies of the same donut by specifying different center
points until you press Enter to complete the command.
Similar to the way of drawing circle, donuts are closed polylines with certain width with or without fill.
The system variable FILLMODE controls whether to fill the donut or not.
If system variable FILLMODE is set to 1, to create filled donuts; if system variable FILLMODE is set
to 0, to create donuts without filling.
To cre
ate a donut, you specify its inside and outside diameters and its center. You can continue creating
multiple copies with the same diameter by specifying different center points. To create solid-filled circles,
just assign the same value for the inside radius and outside radius.
To draw a donut
1. Choose Draw > Donut from the main menu.
2. Specify the inside diameter of the donut.
3. Specify the outside diameter of the donut.
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4. Specify the center of the donut.
5. Specify the center point to draw another donut, or press Enter to complete the
command.
Inside diameter (A) and outside diameter (B)
6.3. Create 3D Objects
With 3D models, you can
•
•
View entities in three dimensions.
Create three-dimensional entities.
•
•
Edit entities in three-dimensional space.
Edit three-dimensional solids.
•
Display hidden-line and shaded views of three-dimensional entities.
ZWCAD supports three types of 3D modeling: wireframe, surface, and solid. Each type has
its own
creation and editing techniques.
•
Wire-frame models , which consist of lines and curves that define the edges of a threedimensional entity. You can create a wire-frame model by drawing lines, arcs, polylines, and
other two-dimensional entities anywhere in three-dimensional space. Wire-frame models have
no surfaces; they always appear as outlines. Because you must individually draw and position
each entity that makes up a wire-frame model, creating one can be exacting and time-consuming.
•
Surface models , which consist of both edges and the surfaces between those edges. You can
create a surface model by applying elevation and thickness to two-dimensional planar entities
or by using specific three-dimensional entity-creation commands. Surface models consist of
individual planes forming a faceted, polygonal mesh.
•
3D solids , which are three-dimensional ACIS entities that consist of faces and edges. 3D solids
appear to have volume and are easier to work with than wir
eframe and surface models. ZWCAD
supports viewing and limited editing of 3D solids, including moving, rotating and scaling.
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You should notice that different editing manipulations result in different visual effects because of various
model and creating methods. You should avoid mixing the models of a different type when creating 3D
objects. Limits are also applied to the conversion of model types, only solid -curve and curve--wireframe
conversions are available.
6.3.1.
Set 3D Thickness and Elevation
By default, the program creates new two dimensional objects with a zero elevation and thickness. The
easiest way to create a three-dimensional object is to change the elevation or thickness property of an
existing two-dimensional object.
The elevation of an object is its z coordinate position in relation to the xy plane in which the object is
drawn. An elevation of 0 indicates that the object is drawn on the xy plane of the current UCS. Positive
elevations are abo
ve this plane; negative elevations are below it.
The thickness of an object is the distance it is extruded above or below its elevation. A positive thickness
extrudes the object upward in the positive z-direction of the object; a negative thickness extrudes it
downward in the negative z-direction. The thickness is applied uniformly to the entire object. You can
extrude any two-dimensional object into a three-dimensional object by changing the thickness of the
object to a nonzero value. For example, a circle becomes a cylinder, a line becomes a three-dimensional
plane, and a rectangle becomes a box.
Two-dimensional entities
Two-dimensional entities with thickness added
You can create three-dimensional objects using any of the following methods:
Draw two-dimensional objects in three-dimensional space.
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•
Convert two-dimensional planar objects into three-dimensional objects by applying elevation
and thickness.
•
Convert two-dimensional planar objects into
three-dimensional objects by revolving or
extruding.
•
Create three-dimensional objects, such as boxes, cylinders, cones, domes, spheres, and wedges.
You can change the default elevation and thickness values to create new objects with an elevation and
thickness already applied.
To set the current elevation
1. Type CHANGE on the command line, and then press Enter after selecting threedimensional objects.
2. Enter P (Properties) and press Enter.
3. Enter E (Elev) and press Enter.
4. Specify a new elevation, and then press Enter.
To set the current thickness
1. Choose Format > Thickness from the main menu.
2. Enter a new value for thickness, and then press Enter.
6.3.2.
Create Wireframe Models
A wireframe model is an edge or skeletal composition of lines and curves that are used to define 3D
objects.
Tips for Using Wireframe Models
For the objects that are used to construct wireframe are required to be individually created and located,
creating 3D wireframe models can be more di
fficult and time-consuming than creating their 2D views.
The following tips are provided to help you work more effectively:
Plan and organize models on layers so as to reduce the visual complexity of the model. Specifying
different color for each layer can help with differentiating between objects in various views.
Create construction geometry to define the basic shape of the model.
Use multiple views, especially isometric views, to facilitate visualizing the model and selecting objects.
To be adept at manipulating the UCS in 3D. Use the XY plane of the current UCS as a work plane to
orient planar objects such as circles and arcs. The UCS is also used as the plane for trimming and
extending, offsetting, and rotating objects.
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Use object snaps and grid snap carefully to ensure the precision of models.
Use coordinate filters to drop perpendiculars and easily locate points in 3D b ased on the location of
points on other objects.
Create Wireframe Models
You can crea
te wireframe models by positioning any 2D planar object anywhere in 3D space, using the
following methods:
•
Specifying the 3D coordinate, which is X, Y, and Z location of the object.
•
•
Setting the default work plane (the XY plane of the UCS) on which you will draw the object.
Positioning an object by moving or copying to its proper 3D location after you create it.
6.3.3.
Create Surfaces
3D meshes use planar embedded surfaces as its surface. Defined from the vertex position of initial mesh
network-axis and secondary network-axis (the direction of M and N), in which Vertex of initial mesh
network-axis points to the M direction, and N direction points to secondary network-axis. Similar to the
function of X and Y axis on XY plane, M and N are designated individually to the vertex position of row
and column, Meshes are available both in 2D and 3D spaces, mainly used in 3D spaces.
Meshes can help solving the problem of using features like hiding, shade and render other than ph
ysical
properties (weight, quality, the center of gravity) that is unavailable in using wireframe. You can also
create irregular geometric drawings with meshes, such as a 3D topographical model of mountainous
terrain.
Either closed or open meshes can be created, the following pictures show each meshes open or closed
individually in M and N direction:
Various methods are used for creating a mesh, both using keyboard way to specify mesh parameter or
operating 3D command to draw the planar mesh, the size of M and N of a mesh determines the number
of lines drawn on each direction.
Create 3D surfaces
You can create a three-dimensional face, which consists of a section of a plane in three-dimensional
space. You define a three-dimensional face by specifying the x,y,z coordinates of three or more corners.
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After you specify the fourth point, the program continues to prompt you for additional faces by
alternating prompts for the third point and fourth point to allow you
to build a complex three-dimensional
object. Each three or four-sided plane is created as a separate three-dimensional face object.
To create a three-dimensional face
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > 3D Face from the main menu.
2. Specify the first point of the three-dimensional face.
3. Specify the second, third, and fourth points.
4. Specify the third and fourth points for additional faces.
5. To complete the command, press Enter.
TIP Any or all edges of a three-dimensional face can be invisible to allow you to more accurately model
objects with holes in them. As the program prompts you for the corner points, in the prompt box, choose
Invisible to make the next edge invisible.
An example of a three-dimensional model created using three-dimensional faces.
Create 3D Meshes
The 3D command is widely used for creating objects as boxes, cones, dishes, meshes, pyramids, spheres,
donuts, and wedges. Before hiding 3D entities, all the meshes are displayed in wireframe.
Use VPOINT to view the en
tity once you have created a 3D entity, or performed View-3D Orbit from
View menu options to view the 3D entity in full perspective. The following picture displays entities as
meshes with specified vertexes.
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Creating rectangular meshes
You can create a three-dimensional rectangular mesh consisting of four-sided polygons. You determine
the size of the mesh by specifying the number of vertices along the primary (M direction) and secondary
(N direction) mesh axes and then specifying the coordinates for each vertex.
To create a rectangular mesh
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > 3D Mesh from the main menu.
2. Specify the number of vertices along the primary mesh axis.
3. Specify the number of vertices along the secondary mesh axis.
4. Specify the coordinates for each vertex.
5. Specifying the coordinates for the last vertex completes the mesh and ends the
command.
TIP Although creating rectangular meshes manually can be exacting, they are useful for representing
complex s
urfaces such as three-dimensional terrain models. The 3D Mesh tool is most useful when
combined with scripts or LISP programs that mathematically calculate the coordinates of the vertices.
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An example of a three-dimensional terrain model created using rectangular meshes.
The following picture shows the polygon mesh with coordinates specified for each vertex.
Create Polygon Meshes
You can create a polygon mesh consisting of faces connecting three or more vertices.
You first determine the coordinates of each vertex and then define each face by entering the vertex
numbers for all the vertices of that face. As you create each face, you can control the visibility and color
of each edge and assign each edge to specific layers.
When creating meshes, a positive vertex means an invisible edge. The system variable SPLFRAME
controls whether to show the invisible edges or not. If set SPLFRAME on, any assumed surfaces and
invisible edges are displayed as those visible mesh
es.
To create a Polyface mesh
1. Type PFACE and then press Enter.
2. Specify the coordinates of each vertex.
3. After each vertex that you specify, the next vertex number is displayed, and you are
prompted for the coordinates of the vertex. Specify the coordinates, and then press
Enter. Continue to specify the coordinates for each numbered vertex.
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4. To finish specifying vertex coordinates, press Enter.
5. Specify the vertex numbers that define the first face. You specify the face by
entering the vertex numbers that were defined when you specified coordinates in
step 2. Each face can be composed of three or more numbered vertices.
6. To finish defining the first face, press Enter.
7. Specify the next face by entering its vertex numbers.
8. To complete the command, press Enter.
TIP To make an edge invisible, type the vertex number as a negative value.
Create Ruled Surface
RULESURF creates a polygon mesh representing the ruled surface between two curves. The enti
ties you
select define the edges of the ruled surface. The entities include the point, line, spline, circle, arc or
polyline. If the first entity is a closed one, the other one must be closed two or a point. If the first entity
is a point, the other one should be a closed or open entity. There is only one point as a boundary curve
on a ruled surface.
If you select a closed polyline, the ruled surface begins at the last vertex and proceeds backward along
the polyline segments. If you select open curves, selecting objects at the same side of the two objects to
create a ruled surface, selecting objects at the different side of the two objects to create crossed ruled
surface, shown as follows:
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To create a ruled surface mesh
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > Ruled Surface from the main menu.
2. Select the first defining object.
3. Select the second defining object.
Select the first (A) and second (B) defining objects
The resulting ruled surface mesh
Create Tabulated S
urface
Creates a polygon mesh defined by a path and a direction vector. The path curve defines the surface of
the polygon mesh. The objects like a line, arc, circle, ellipse, or 2D or 3D polyline can be used as outline
curves for defining polygons. Both lines and open 2D or 3D polylines are used as the direction vector.
Tabulated surface meshes are used as a serial of a paralleled polygon on the specified path, you should
draw direction vector and original object before creating a Tabulated Surface.
To create an extruded surface mesh
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > Tabulated Surface from the main menu.
2. Select the object to extrude.
3. Select the extrusion path.
Select the object to extrude (A) and the extrusion path (B)
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The resulting extruded surface mesh
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NOTE An extruded mesh is different from an extruded solid. If you want to extrude an object and convert
it to a three dimensional solid, use the Extrude command.
Create Revolved Surfaces
Use REVSURF command
to create a surface of revolution by rotating a profile of the object about an
axis. The object to be revolved can be a line, arc, circle, ellipse, elliptical arc, closed polyline, polygon,
closed spline or torus. REVSURF is useful for surfaces with rotational symmetry.
You can create a surface of revolution, which is a three-dimensional polygon mesh that approximates the
surface generated by rotating a two-dimensional profile around an axis. You select the two objects that
define the profile and the axis. You also specify the starting angle and the number of degrees to revolve
the profile.
Revolving the profile 360 degrees creates a closed three-dimensional mesh. The Number Of M Direction
Surfaces value determines the mesh density (the number of mesh segments) in the M direction (around
the axis of revolution). The N Direction Mesh Density value determines the mesh density (the number
of mesh segments) in the N direction (along with the axis of revolution).
To create a revolved surf
ace mesh
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > Revolved Surface from the main menu.
2. Select the object to revolve.
3. Select the object to be used as the axis of revolution.
4. Specify the starting angle.
5. Specify the number of degrees to revolve the object.
Select the object to be revolved (A) and the axis of revolution (B)
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The resulting revolved surface mesh
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Create Edge-Defined Surface Meshes
You can create a surface called a Coons surface patch, a mesh connecting four edges. You select the
entities that define the edges. Edge entities can be arcs, lines, or polylines. The four edge entities must
form a closed loop and share endpoints. A patch is a bicubic surface (one curve extends in the M-direction
and the other in the N-direction) interpolated between the four adjoining edges. You can select the edges
in any order. The first edge you select determines the M-direction of the mesh.
To create an edge defined Coons surface patch mesh
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > E
dge Surface from the main menu.
2.
3.
Select the first edge.
Select the second, third, and fourth edges.
Select the objects to be used as the four edges (A, B, C, and D)
6.3.4.
The resulting Coons surface patch mesh
Create 3D Solids
Creates 3D solids in a drawing. A solid object represents the entire volume of an object. Complex solid
shapes are also easier to construct and edit than wireframes and meshes.
You can use the following methods to create solids:
•
Combines one of the basic solid shapes such as a box, cone, cylinder, sphere, torus, and wedge
or by extruding a 2D object along a path or revolving a 2D object about an axis.
•
Once you have created a solid in this manner, you can create more complex shapes by
combining solids. You can join solids, subtract solids from each other, or find the common
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volume (overlapping portion) of solids. Solids can be further modified by filleting, chamfering,
or changing the color of their edges.
•
Solids
are displayed as wireframes until you hide, shade, or render them. Additionally, you can
analyze solids for their mass properties (volume, moments of inertia, the center of gravity, and
so on). You can break a solid into mesh and wireframe objects using explode command.
•
The ISOLINES system variable controls the number of tessellation lines used to visualize
curved portions of the wireframe. The FACETRES system variable adjusts the smoothness of
shaded and hidden-line objects.
Create a Solid Box
You can create rectangular boxes or cubes. A box consists of six rectangular surface planes. The base of
the box is always parallel with the xy plane of the current UCS. You position the box by specifying either
a corner or the center of the box. You determine the size of the box by either specifying a second corner
and the height; defining the box to be a cube and then providing its length; or specifying the length,
width, and height.
The length of the box is mapping to X-axis of curren
t UCS, and its width maps to the Y axis, and height
maps to the Z axis.
RECTANG or PLINE command creates a rectangle or closed polyline from which you can create a box
using EXTRUDE. The 3D command creates a box shape defined by surfaces only.
To create a box
1. Choose Draw > Solids > Box from the main menu.
2. Specify the first corner of the base.
3. Specify the opposite corner of the base.
4. Specify the height.
First corner of the base (A), the opposite corner of the base (B), and the height (C)
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To create a box as a three-dimensional surface
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > 3D Surfaces from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type B (Box).
3. Specify the first corner of the base.
4. Specify the opposite corner of the base.
5. Specify the height.
Create a Solid Cone
Draw a solid cone in current drawing using CONE command. By default, the cone's bottom lies on the
XY plane of the current UCS. The cone height is parallel to the Z-axis. The apex determines the h
eight
and orientation of the cone.
You can draw a 2D circle and then use EXTRUDE to taper the circle at an angle along the Z axis to
create a solid cone.
To complete the truncation, you can subtract a box from the tip of the cone with the SUBTRACT
command. The 3D command creates a conical shape defined by surfaces only.
To create a cone
1. Choose Draw > Solids > Cone from the main menu.
2. Specify the center of the base of the cone.
3. Specify the radius or diameter.
4. Specify the height.
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Center of the base (A), the radius of the base (B), and the height (C)
To create a cone as a three-dimensional surface
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > 3D Surfaces from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type C (Cone).
3. Specify the center of the base of the cone.
4. Specify the radius or diameter.
5. Specify the height.
Create a Solid Cylinder
You can create cylinders defined by a circular base. The base of a cylinder is always parallel with the xy
plane of the current UC
S; the height of a cylinder is always parallel with the z-axis. You position a
cylinder by specifying the center of the base. You determine the size of a cylinder by specifying either
the radius or diameter of the base and the height.
You can draw a circle and then use EXTRUDE to create a solid cylinder. To construct a cylinder with
special detail, such as grooves along its sides, you can create a 2D profile of its base with a closed PLINE
and then use EXTRUDE to define its height along the Z-axis.
To create a cylinder
1. Choose Draw > Solids > Cylinder from the main menu.
2. Specify the center of the base of the cylinder.
3. Specify the radius or diameter.
4. Specify the height.
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Center of the base (A), the radius of the base (B), and the height (C)
To create a cylinder as a three-dimensional surface
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > 3D Surfaces from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type L (cyLinder).
3. Specify the center, radius, and height as described pre
viously.
Spheres
You can create spheres. The latitude lines of a sphere are always parallel with the xy plane of the current
UCS; the central axis is always parallel with the z-axis. You position a sphere by specifying its center
point. You determine the size of a sphere by specifying either its radius or its diameter.
To create a dome or dish, combine a sphere with a box and use SUBTRACT. If you want to create a
spherical object with additional details, create a 2D profile and use REVOLVE to define a rotation angle
about the Z axis. The 3D command creates a spherical shape defined by surfaces only.
To create a sphere
1. Choose Draw > Solids > Sphere from the main menu.
2. Specify the center of the sphere.
3. Specify the radius or diameter.
Center (A) and radius (B) of the sphere
The resulting sphere
To create a sphere as a three-dimensional surface
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > 3D Surfaces from the main menu.
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2. On the command line, type S (Sphere).
3. Speci
fy the center of the sphere.
4. Specify the radius or diameter.
5. Specify the number of longitudinal sections that are perpendicular to the xy plane.
6. Specify the number of latitudinal sections that are parallel to the xy plane.
Dishes
You can create a three-dimensional dish. The latitude lines of a dish are always parallel with the xy plane
of the current UCS; the central axis is always parallel with the z-axis. You position a dish by specifying
its center point. You determine the size of a dish by specifying either its radius or its diameter.
To create a dish as a three-dimensional surface
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > 3D Surfaces from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type DI (DIsh).
3. Specify the center and radius or diameter as described previously.
Domes
You can create a three-dimensional dome. The latitude lines of a dome are always parallel with the xy
plane of the current UCS; the central axis is always parallel with the z-axis. You position a dome by
specifying its c
enter point. You determine the size of a dome by specifying either its radius or its diameter.
To create a dome as a three-dimensional surface
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > 3D Surfaces from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type DO (DOme).
3. Specify the center and radius or diameter as described previously.
Torus
You can create a three-dimensional donut or ring-shaped object known as a torus. The diameter of a ring
is always parallel with the xy plane of the current UCS. A torus is constructed by revolving a circle about
a line drawn in the plane of the circle and parallel with the z-axis of the current UCS. You position a
torus by specifying its center point. You determine the size of a torus by specifying its overall diameter
or radius and the diameter or radius of the tube (the circle being revolved).
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You can draw a torus with no center hole called self-intersecting torus because the radius of the tube is
greater than the radius of the torus. To create
a bipolar-depression solid, specify a positive tube radius
greater than the radius of the torus. The 3D command creates a toroidal shape defined by surfaces only.
To create a torus
1. Choose Draw > Solids > Torus from the main menu.
2. Specify the center of the whole torus.
3. Specify the radius or diameter of the whole torus.
4. Specify the radius or diameter of the body of the torus.
Center (A) and radius of the whole torus (B), and the radius of the body (C)
To create a torus as a three-dimensional surface
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > 3D Surfaces from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type T (Torus).
3. Specify the center of the whole torus.
4. Specify the radius or diameter of the whole torus.
5. Specify the radius or diameter of the body of the torus.
6. Specify the number of longitudinal sections that are perpendicular to the xy plane.
7. Specify the number of latitudinal sections that are parallel to the xy plane.
Wedges
You can create three-dimensional wedges consisting
of five surface planes. The base of the wedge is
always parallel with the xy plane of the current UCS with the sloped face opposite the first corner. The
height is always parallel to the z-axis. You position the wedge by specifying either a corner or the center
of the wedge. You determine the size of the wedge by either specifying a second corner and the height;
defining the wedge based on a cube having a given length; or specifying the length, width, and height.
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To create a wedge
1. Choose Draw > Solids > Wedge from the main menu.
2. Specify the first corner of the base.
3. Specify the opposite corner of the base.
4. Specify the height.
First corner of the base (A), the opposite corner of the base (B), and the height (C)
To create a wedge as a three-dimensional surface
1. Choose Draw > Surfaces > 3D Surfaces from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type W (Wedge).
3. Specify the first corner of the base.
4. Specify the opposite corner of the base.
5. Spec
ify the height.
Helix
When you create a helix, you can specify the following:
Base radius
Top radius
Helix height
Number of turns
Turn height
Twist direction
You can use a helix as a path along which to sweep an object to create an image as follows, sweeping a
circle along a helix path to create a solid model of a spring.
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Pyramid
Create a 3D solid pyramid.
By default, a pyramid is defined by the center of the base of the point, a point on the middle of the edge,
and another point that determines the height.
Solids Extrude
EXTRUDE extrudes the profiles of the selected object along the chosen path to create solids.
The entities you can extrude are planar 3D faces, closed polylines, polygons, circles, ellipses, closed
splines, donuts, and regions. You cannot extrude objects contained within a block or polylines that have
crossing or self-intersecting segments.
To extrude the objects that are lines or arcs intersect with polylines, you
can use Join option of PEDIT
command to convert them into multiple single polyline objects or convert them into regions before using
PEDIT command.
When an arc is part of a tapered extrusion, you need to set a small value to the angle o f the arc, because
larger angle may cause the outline to become a point before it attaches to the specified height.
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To create an extruded solid
1. Choose Draw > Solids > Extrude from the main menu.
2. Select the object to extrude.
3. Select the extrusion path, or specify the height.
Select the object to extrude (A) and the extrusion Path (B)
The resulting extruded surface mesh
Solids Revolve
REVOLVE command revolves a 2D object to the specified certain angle to form solids. The revolving
axis can be X, Y axis of current UCS as well as lines, polylines.
Similar to EXTRUDE, the REVOLVE command easily helps drawing the details of a drawing that is
hard to implement by the common outline.
To revolve the objects that are lines or
arcs intersect with polylines, you can use Join option of PEDIT
command to convert them into multiple single polyline objects, and then perform REVOLVE command.
Objects can be revolved are closed polylines, polygons, rectangles, circles, ellipses, regions and so on.
On the contrary, the objects can't be revolved are 3D objects, objects that are included in a block,
polylines with intersections and transections or unclosed polylines.
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To create a revolved solid
1. Choose Draw > Solids > Revolve from the main menu.
2. Select the object to revolve.
3. Do one of the following to define the axis of revolution:
4. Specify a start point and an endpoint.
5. Type o and press Enter to select an object that determines the axis.
6. Type x and press Enter to select the x-axis.
7. Type y and press Enter to select the y-axis.
8. Specify the angle of revolution.
Left: Select the object to revolve (A) and the axis (B) about which to revolve it, followed by the angle of revolut
ion
Right: The resulting revolved solid
Mirror3D
Creates a mirrored copy of selected 3D objects across a mirroring plane.
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You can specify the mirroring plane the following:
Object: Uses the plane of a selected planar object
Last: Mirrors the selected objects about the last defined plane
Z Axis: Defines the plane by a point on the plane and a point normal to the plane
View: Aligns the plane with the viewing plane of the current viewport through a point
XY/YX/ZX: Aligns the plane with one of the standard planes through a specified point
3 Points: Defines the plane by three points
Creating composite solids
You can create composite three-dimensional solids by combining, subtracting, and finding the
intersection of two or more solids.
With UNION command, you can combine the total volume of two or more s olids or two or more regions
into a composite object.
To combine solids
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1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing >
Union from the main menu.
2. Select the objects to combine.
Select the objects to combine (A and B)
The resulting combined solid
Use SUBTRACT to remove the common area of one set of solids from another.
To subtract solids
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Subtract from the main menu.
2. Select the objects to subtract from one another.
Select the objects to subtract (A and B)
The resulting solid
INTERSECT command creates a composite solid from the common volume of two or more overlapping
solids. The common volume is used to create composite solid and the non-overlapping portions will be
removed.
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Unlike INTERSECT command, INTERFERE compares the objects between two selected sets and
creates a composite entity with the common volume of two or more solids without removing the original
objects.
To intersect solids
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Intersect from the main menu.
2. Select the objects to intersect.
Select the objects to combine (A and B)
Th
e resulting combined solid
6.4. Create Regions
You can convert a closed object into a two-dimensional region. After you create a region, you can modify
it using the various three-dimensional tools. For example, you can create a region from a square, and
then extrude the square to create a three-dimensional cube.
You can create regions from closed objects, such as polylines, polygons, circles, ellipses, closed splines,
and donuts.
Creating regions typically has no visible effect on a drawing. However, if the original object had a width
or lineweight, that information is lost when you create the region.
Regions can be used for applying hatching and shading and extracting design info rmation, such as the
centroid, and using MASSPROP to analyze properties, such as area.
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Besides using closed 2D objects, you also have various options to create a region, such as connecting
multiple loops or endpoints of open curves. However, the closed area inside the unclosed object
s will not
form regions. For example, crossed arcs or intersected curves.
BOUNDARY creates region by specifying inner points of the closed area, to form a boundary with
existing objects. If the objects are intersected with each other, ZWCAD takes the closed area nearest to
the selected points as a boundary.
Meanwhile, a combined region is created through the union, subtract or intersect among several areas.
When using a union, subtract or intersect for complex regions, you can fill the area and analyze its area
as well. The following region objects show combined areas of the union, subtract or intersect orderly:
Objects combined using UNION:
Objects combined using SUBTRACT:
Objects combined using INTERSECT:
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To create a region
1. Choose Draw > Region from the main menu.
2. Select the objects to create the region.
3. Press Enter.
4. The command bar displays a message that describes how many regions were
created.
6.5. Create Revision Clouds
REVCLOUD creates a p
olyline of sequential arcs to form a cloud-shaped object. Revision Cloud helps
mark your drawings by highlighting some important parts when reviewing or redline drawings.
You can create a revision cloud from scratch, or you can convert objects, such as a circle, ellipse, polyline,
or spline, to a revision cloud. If DELOBJ is set to 1 (the default), the original object is deleted once you
convert an object to a revision cloud.
You can set the minimum and maximum default values for the arc lengths of a revision cloud. You should
notice that the maximum arc length can't be more than 3 times as big as the minimum arc length.
REVCLOUD stores the last used arc length as a multiple of the DIMSCALE system variable to provide
consistency among drawings with different scale factors.
Make sure that the entire area to be outlined with REVCLOUD before using the command. REVCLOUD
can't be transparent used and real-time panning and zooming.
6.6. Create Break Lines
Creates a polyline and inserts the
breakline symbol. Options are provided to control the relative size and
appearance of the breakline symbol and an extension of the polyline beyond the selected start and end
points.
To use your own block for the breakline symbol, make sure that the block contains two point objects on
the Defpoints layer. Those point objects determine the placement of the symbol and how the line will be
broken.
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NOTE Current settings of DIMSCALE are capable of controlling the terminal size of break line flexibly.
6.7. Create Wipeouts
Wipeouts are unique entities that can help you hide areas of your drawing. They display with the current
background color, so the details behind the wipeout do not display or print.
Wipeouts are similar to other entities — you can copy, mirror, array, erase, rotate, and scale them, and
they can be used in both model space and paper space.
If you want to print the wipeout entities located in a drawing, you must print to a raster-capable printer.
No
te that in some cases you may have unexpected results when printing drawings that contain wipeout
entities, for example, if printing on colored paper.
Drawing wipeouts using polygons and polylines
Wipeouts are created using existing polygons, closed zero-width polylines made up of only line segments,
or new polylines that you draw while using the WIPEOUT command.
To draw a wipeout
1. Choose Draw > Wipeout from the main menu.
2. Specify the start point.
3. Specify the endpoint of each segment.
4. After specifying the last endpoint, press Enter.
Drawing without wipeout
Drawing with wipeout
To create a wipeout using an existing polygon or polyline
1. Choose Draw > Wipeout from the main menu.
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2. Choose P (Polyline).
3. Select the closed polyline to use for the wipeout.
4. Choose one of the following:
Yes — Creates the wipeout and deletes the polyline used to create the wipeout.
No — Creates the wipeout and keeps the polyline used to create the wipeout.
Turn
ing wipeout frames on or off
Each wipeout has a frame along its boundary. Wipeout frames can be turned on or off for any drawing.
When wipeout frames are on, you can select and modify wipeouts. You may want to turn off wipeout
frames when it's time to print.
To turn wipeout frames on or off
1. Choose Draw > Wipeout from the main menu.
2. Choose F (Frames).
3. Choose On or Off.
Wipeout frames turned on
Wipeout frames turned off
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7. Modify Objects
7.1. Select Objects
You can create a selection set that consists of one or more objects before you modify them.
Use any of the following methods to create a selection set:
•
•
Choose a command or tool first, and then select objects.
Select objects first, and then choose a command or tool (most objects).
•
Select objects by pointing, and then use grips to modify them.
7.1.1.
Select Objects Individually
You can select one or more objects under the prompt of Select objects on the command line. The selected
hig
hlights on the screen and could be removed from the selection set.
Select objects with pickbox
You can select objects using a mouse or another pointing device. The mouse or other pointing device is
represented of square pickbox on the drawing area. When selecting an object, the cursor square pickbox
should be in the position of an object but not inside it. The size of pickbox can be changed on the
Selection tab of Options dialog box.
Remove Selection from Objects
If an object is no longer needed in a selection set, you can deselect it to remove it from the selection set.
To remove an object from the selection set: Press Shift, and then select the object again.
NOTE Pressing Shift while selecting objects using a crossing window removes all objects from the
specified selection set.
To remove all objects from the selection set
1. Press Escape.
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Prevent Objects from Being Selected
You can prevent objects from being selected by locking the layer. Because locking l
ayer means that you
can do any operations except for editing objects on this layer. You can set the locked layer as the current
layer and add objects as well as using requiring command (such as LIST) and Objects Snap.
You can control whether you select objects first or type a command first, whether the selected objects
are highlighted, how to define the selection area, how to create a selection set.
Select Objects First
You can select objects first and then choose how to modify them. As you select each object, it is
highlighted with small squares called grips, which appear at strategic points on the object.
The locations of the grips depend on the type of object selected. For example, grips appear at the
endpoints and midpoint of a line, at the quadrant points and the center point of a circle, and at the
endpoints, midpoint, and center of an arc.
Examples of grip locations.
After you select one or more objects, you can choose an object modification command, such as Copy or
Move, fro
m the Modify menu or toolbar. You can also click the right mouse button to display a shortcut
menu containing the object modification commands appropriate for the selected objects, and then choose
the command from the menu.
Select a Command First
After typing a command, the cursor becomes a pickbox and prompts you to select objects. There are
several methods for selecting objects:
•
Select objects using a mouse or another pointing device.
•
•
Click on the drawing area and drags the cursor to define a square selection area.
Entering interrogation? displays all selection methods, from which, you can specify the desired
one.
•
Use multiple methods together. For example, to select most of the objects on the drawing, you
can select all objects and then remove the undesired ones.
When you choose an object-modification tool or command, the program prompts you to select objects.
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Typing ? and pressing ENTER, you can choose a selection method. You can selec
t individual objects or
use other techniques such as selection windows to select multiple objects.
When you select objects, you add them to the selection set. After you select at least one object, you can
remove objects from the selection set. To finish adding objects to the selection set, press En ter. Most
object-modification commands then act on the entire selection set.
Control the highlight of selected objects
You can specify whether to display selected objects highlighted, which makes the selection set easier to
see. By default, the highlighting feature is turned on.
Setting system variable HIGHLIGHT 0 turns off the highlighting feature, which can improve the
computer's performance. The operation does not affect grips.
Objects selection methods
When you choose a command that requires you to select objects (when you're deleting or changing object
properties, for example), you can use any of the following selection methods by choosing them at the
command line prompt or entering t
hem in the command bar:
•
Window Selects objects contained entirely within a rectangular selection window.
•
•
Last Selects the last selected object.
Crossing Selects all objects contained within or crossing the boundary of a rectangular selection
window.
•
BOX Selects all objects inside or crossing a rectangle defined by two points.
•
•
ALL Selects all objects in the current drawing.
Fence Selects all objects crossing a selection box.
•
•
WPolygon Selects all objects inside a defined polygon.
CPolygon Selects all objects within or crossing a polygon defined by specifying points.
•
•
Group Selects all objects in the specified group.
Add Adds one or more objects to the selection set.
•
•
Remove Removes one or more objects from the selection set.
Multiple Selects multiple objects and highlights them.
•
•
Previous Selects the previous selection set.
Auto Switches to the "Auto" mode. Pointing to an object means selecting the object.
•
SIngle Y
ou can only select an object for each time.
Cycle Select
When you want to select something behind other objects, Cycle Select can help you easily pick whatever
you want. Click “Cycle Select” button on the status bar or hold to turn on the Cycle Select
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mode, and then click the object you want to select. After that, you will see the currently selected object
being highlighted. If it’s not the one you want, just keep clicking your mouse, then it will switch among
overlapped objects until you find the correct one and press Enter or Space to confirm.
7.1.2.
Select Multiple Objects
You can select multiple objects at one time using rectangular area or fence.
Specify a Rectangular Selection Area
You can select all objects inside the rectangular selection area. When specifying the first corner, there
are two methods to define a rectangular selection window:
•
Drags the cursor from left to right to create an enclosed window selection. The objec
ts entirely
contained in the rectangular selection area are selected only.
•
Drags the cursor from right to left to create a crossing selection. The objects contained or
passing through the rectangular selection area are selected.
The selected objects must be entirely contained in the window selection area when you use Window
Selection. However, if the non-continuous (dash) linetype is only partially visible in the viewport and all
of the visible vectors of the linetype are inside of the selection window, the entire object is selected.
To create a Window
1. Click to select a point in the drawing.
2. Click to the right of the first point to select a second point in the drawing.
Window by selecting the first (A) and second (B) points.
Resulting selection
To create a Crossing Window
1. Click to select a point in the drawing.
2. Click to the left of the first point to select a second point in the drawing.
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Crossing Window by selecting the first (A) and secon
d (B) points
Resulting selection
In addition to a rectangular window, you can define a selection window using other shapes such as a
polygon, circle, or fence (a multi-segmented line that selects objects it crosses).
Specify an Irregularly Shaped Selection Area
You can select objects with an irregularly shaped area defined by the specified points. Under the prompt
of SELECT command, you can select objects entirely enclosed by the selection area with the WPolygon,
or the objects enclosed or crossed by the selection area with the CPolygon.
To select objects using WPolygon
1. Activate an object modification command.
2. On the command line, type WP (WPolygon).
3. Specify the vertices of the polygon.
4. To complete the selection polygon, press Enter.
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Window Polygon by specifying the vertices of the polygon (A, B, and C)
Resulting selection
Specify a Selection Fence
It could be much easier to select objects in a complex drawing by using a selection fence. A sel
ection
fence appears like a polyline and chooses only the objects it passes through.
To select objects using Fence
1. Activate an object modification command.
2. On the command line, type F (Fence).
3. Specify the endpoints of the Fence segments.
4. To complete the Fence, press Enter.
Fence by specifying the endpoints of the fence segments (A, B, and C)
Resulting selection
Use Other Selection Options
Typing SELECT and entering? displays all selection options, from which, you can choose a proper one.
Remove Selection from Multiple Objects
Under the prompt of Select objects, you can type R and choose a selection to remove objects from the
selection set. You also can enter A to add objects to the selection set.
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Holding down SHIFT and selecting objects again, the selected objects would be removed from the
selection set.
7.1.3.
Quick Selection
You can use QSELECT to create a selection set includable or exclusive of the objects which are accord
with the filterin
g criterion. The selection set created by the QSELECT command can be applied to the
entire drawing and replaces or appends to the current selection set.
You can enter QSELECT on the command line or click Quick Select button from the Properties palette
to open Quick Select dialog box. With the specified filtering condition, you can quickly define the
selection set.
7.1.4.
Group Objects
A group is a saved set of objects which you can choose and modify together or separately as needed.
Groups provide an easy way to edit the drawing units as a unit. You can add or remove objects to or from
the groups as needed.
The objects within a group can be edited as a unit, which resembles blocks. However, the groups are
saved from session to session. And you can easily edit individual objects in groups, but in blocks, you
have to explode blocks before you edit them. Groups cannot be shared with other drawings.
Create Groups
Entering GROUP command opens the Group dialog box, from which, you can gi
ve a name and
description to create a group. If you copy a group, the default name is *Ax, and it is considered unnamed.
When you select Display Unnamed Groups, the list displays all the unnamed groups.
When you select an object from a group, the other objects of this group are also selected at the same time.
The objects can be members of more than one group, and the group can be nested in another group. You
can restore a nested group to the original group configuration by ungrouping it.
The named groups are not available when you insert a drawing as an external reference or a block.
However, it is available if your band and then explode the external reference or explode the block.
A group containing too many objects can degrade the performance of the system.
To create a group
1. On the command line, type GROUP.
2. Under Create New Group, enter the name and description of the group.
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3. Click Selectable if you want all entities in the group to be selected when yo
u select
one entity of the group in the drawing.
4. Click Select Entities and Create Group.
5. Select the objects for the group, and then press Enter.
6. In the Group dialog box, click OK.
Select Objects in Groups
You can type a group name to select a group at the prompt of Select entities. If the system variable
PICKSTYLE is set to 1 or 3, you can select any objects of the group.
When you select an object that is a member of more than one groups, all the objects from that groups
containing the selected object are selected.
Edit Groups
You can add or remove group members and rename groups in the Group dialog box. You can also do the
operation such as copy, mirror and arrange as well as giving a description.
You can remove members of a group from selecting objects on the drawing by clicking the Remove
entities from Group button. If a group member is included in a deleted block, the object is removed from
the drawing and also from the group. The group maintains defined even all the gro
up members are
removed.
To modify a group and its objects
1. On the command line, type GROUP.
2. Select the group you want to modify.
3. Under Modify Selected Group, do one or more of the following:
4. Enter a new name, and then click Rename Group.
5. Enter a new description, and then click Change Group Description.
6. Select whether you want the group to be selectable in the drawing.
7. Click Add Entities to Group, select the objects to add to the group, and then press
Enter.
8. Click Remove Entities from Group, select the objects to remove from the group,
and then press Enter.
9. In the Group dialog box, click OK.
You can delete group definition by clicking Un-group entities button. The group is also removed from
the drawing; however, the group members remain in the drawing.
To ungroup objects
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1. On the command line, type GROUP.
2. Select the group to delete.
3. Under Modify Selected Group, click Un-group Entities.
4. Click OK.
Exploding a group deletes it fr
om a drawing; however, objects that were part of the group remain in the
drawing.
The group's member order can be changed (the order in which the objects were selected). There are two
ways to reorder group members.
•
Change the serial number of individual members or arranges of group members.
•
Reverse the ranking of all members. The number of the first object in each group starts from 0
rather than 1.
To change the order of objects in a group
1. On the command line, type group.
2. Under Modify Selected Group, click Reorder Entities.
3. In the Reorder Grouped Entities dialog box, select the group you want to reorder.
4. To see the order of objects in the group, click Highlight. Follow the prompts that
display to view the objects one by one.
5. To reverse the order of all objects in the group, click Reverse Order.
To change the order of specific objects or a range of objects:
1. In Remove from Position, enter the current position of the object.
2. In Place to Position, enter the
new position of the object.
3. In Number of Objects, enter the number of objects or range of objects to reorder.
For example, if you are changing the order of only one object, enter 1.
4. Click Reorder.
NOTE The objects in a group are numbered 0, 1, 2, 3, and so on.
5. Click OK, and then click OK again.
7.2. Modify Objects
7.2.1.
Remove Objects
Removes objects using one of the following methods:
•
•
Delete objects with ERASE command.
Cut the selected objects to the clipboard.
•
•
Press DELETE to remove the selected objects.
You can use ERASE command to delete objects, whatever the methods you use to select objects.
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•
To restore the deleted objects, use UNDO command.
•
OOPS, the command can restore objects deleted with the ERASE, BLOCK or WBLOCK
command.
•
•
To delete mark of plus sign (point mark), perform REDRAW command to refresh the screen.
To delete unused named objects, such as block definition, dimension style, layer, linetype an
d
text style, perform PURGE command.
7.2.2.
Copy Objects
You can copy one or more entities, making one copy or multiple copies within the current drawing. You
can also copy entities between drawings.
You can duplicate objects within the current drawing. The default method is to create a selection set and
then specify a base point, and a displacement point, for the copy.
While specifying two points, you can enter two coordinates to copy objects with the relative distance.
The location of copies is determined by the relative coordinate. You do not have to enter coordinate with
the @ as the relative coordinate is assumed.
To copy objects at the specified distance, you can specify the distance directly when the Ortho Mode or
Polar Tracking is on.
Create only one copy of object one time
1. Choose Modify > Copy from the main menu.
2. Select the objects, and then press Enter.
3. On the command line, type O (mOde).
4. On the command line, type S (Single).
5. Specify the base point.
6. Speci
fy the displacement point.
Object to copy (A), base point (B), and displacement point (C)
Result
You can copy objects more than one time until you press ENTER to exit COPY operation.
Create multiple copies for selected object one time
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1. Choose Modify > Copy from the main menu.
2. Select the objects, and then press Enter.
3. On the command line, type O (mOde).
4. On the command line, type M (Multiple).
5. Specify the base point.
6. Specify the displacement point of the first copy.
7. Specify the displacement point of the next copy.
8. Continue specifying displacement points to place additional copies.
9. To complete the command, press Enter.
Left: To make multiple copies of an object, select the object to copy (A), specify the base point (B), and then specify
the displacement points (C, D, and E)
Right: Result
7.2.3.
Mirror Objects
You can specify a baseline to create a mirror image using MIRROR command. The mirror image is
symmetrical with the original
one. So if you want to create a symmetrical object, you only need to draw
a half one, then create a full one using MIRROR command.
When creating mirror objects using MIRROR command, you should specify a mirror lin e around which
the mirror object is created. In the 3D space, this mirror line must be perpendicular to the XY plane in
which the mirror line is included. The mirror line can be determined by specifying two points, while you
creating mirror objects, you can optionally choose to remove or retain the source entity as you need once
the mirror objects are created. Like the picture is shown below. Additionally, you should notice that
mirror is only effective to such plans that parallel to XY plan of current UCS.
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System variable MIRRTEXT affects texts created with MIRROR command. When MIRRTEXT is on,
the copy of text object is displayed in mirroring way as other objects do. When MIRRTEXT is off, the
direction of text objects remains unchanged. Displaying as
follows:
By default, the MIRRTEXT is on. It affects text objects created with TEXT, ATTDEF, METEXT
command as well as attribute definition and variable attribute. Text, as well as constant attributes that are
included in an insert block, are mirrored together with the block while mirroring.
To mirror objects
1. Choose Modify > Mirror from the main menu.
2. Select the object, and then press Enter.
3. Specify the first point of the mirror line.
4. Specify the second point of the mirror line.
5. On the command line, if you want to retain the original objects, type N; if you want
to delete the original objects, type Y.
Left: To mirror an object, select it (A), and then specify the first point (B) and second point (C) of the mirror line
Right: Result
Mirror in 3D
You can create a mirror image of selected objects in three-dimensional space. You mirror the objects
about a mirror plane that you define by either specifying three points; selecting an existing twodimensional planar object; al
igning the plane parallel with the xy, yz, or xz plane of the current UCS; or
aligning the plane with the current view. You can delete or retain the original objects.
To mirror an object about a three-dimensional plane
1. Choose Modify > 3D Operation > 3D Mirror from the main menu.
2. Select the objects, and then press Enter.
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3. At command line prompt, choose 3points, or press Enter to select the default.
4. Specify the first point on the mirror plane.
5. Specify the second and third points on the plane.
6. At command line prompt, choose one of the following:
7. Yes, Delete the original objects.
8. No, Retain the original objects.
Left: Select the object to mirror (A), and then specify the first point (B), the second point (C), and third point (D)
defining the mirror plane
Right: The resulting mirrored object
7.2.4.
Offset an Object
You can use the offset feature to copy selected objects and align them offset to the original objects at a
specified distance.
You can make offset objects using arcs, circles, ellipses, elliptical arcs, lines, twodimensional polylines, rays, and infinite lines.
Making offset copies of curved objects creates larger or smaller curves, depending on which side of the
original object you place the copy. For example, placing an offset copy of a circle outside the circle
creates a larger concentric circle; positioning the copy inside the circle creates a smaller concentric circle.
You can perform TRIM or EXTEND command while the OFFSET command is active. The result is as
follows:
If the objects to offset are 2D polyline or spline, the system trims them automatically when the specified
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distance is larger than can otherwise be accommodated. Displaying as follows:
To make an offset copy by specifying the distance
1. Choose Modify > Offset from the main menu.
2. Specify the distance by selecting two points or by entering a distance.
3. Select the object to offset.
4. Specify on which side of the
object to place the parallel copy.
5. Select another object to offset, or press Enter to complete the command.
To make a parallel copy, specify the distance between copies by entering a distance or selecting two points (A and
B), select the object to copy (C), and specify on which side to place the copy (D)
To make an offset copy passing through a point
1. Choose Modify > Offset from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type T (Through).
3. Select the object to offset.
4. Specify the point for the object to pass through.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4, or press Enter to complete the command.
To make a parallel copy passing through a point, select the object to copy (A) and then specify the through point (B)
7.2.5.
Create an Array of Objects
You can create copies of objects that array in the rectangular or polar pattern.
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For rectangular arrays, you can specify the number of rows and columns as well as the interval; for polar
arrays, you can specify the number o
f copies of the objects and determine whether the copies are rotated.
Create Rectangular Arrays
You should specify the number of rows and columns, offset distance and angle before you create
rectangular arrays.
To create a rectangular array
1. Choose Modify > Array from the main menu.
2. In the Array dialog box, click Rectangular Array.
3. Click the Select Objects button, and then select objects to array in your drawing.
4. In the Array dialog box, specify the row and column offset distance and angle of
offset.
5. Click OK.
To create a rectangular array, select the object to copy (A), type the number of rows and columns, and then specify
the distance between each row (B) and column (C)
Create Polar Arrays
You can specify a center or base point to copy the selected objects to create a polar array. The polar array
is drawn clockwise or counterclockwise depending on whether you type a positive or negative value.
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The radius is determined by the distance between t
he specified center point and a reference or base point
on the last selected object.
To create a polar array
1. Choose Modify > Array from the main menu.
2. In the Array tab, click Polar Array.
3. Click the Select Objects button, and then select objects to array in your drawing.
4. In the Array dialog box, choose Method and values you desired.
5. Click OK.
To create a polar array, select the object to copy (A), specify the center point of the array (B), and then specify the
number of items to the array, the angle the array is to fill, and whether to rotate the items
Array in 3D
The 3DARRY command is designed to create 3D arrays in the 3D space. The arrays include both
rectangular and polar array. Besides specifying the number of rows (X direction) and columns (Y
direction), you have to give the number of layer (Z direction).
To create a three-dimensional rectangular array
1. Choose Modify > 3D Operation > 3D Array from the main menu.
2. Select the objects, and then press Enter.
3. At
command line prompt, choose Rectangular.
4. Type the number of rows in the array.
5. Type the number of columns.
6. Type the number of levels.
7. Specify the vertical distance between the rows.
8. Specify the horizontal distance between the columns.
9. Specify the depth between the levels.
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To create a three-dimensional rectangular array, select the object to copy (A), type the number of rows, columns,
and levels, and then specify the distance between each row (B), column (C), and level (D)
To create a three-dimensional polar array
1. Choose Modify > 3D Operation > 3D Array from the main menu.
2. Select the objects, and then press Enter.
3. At command line prompt, choose Polar.
4. Type the number of copies to make, including the original selection set.
5. Specify the angle the array is to fill, from 0 to 360 degrees. The default setting for
the angle is 360 degrees. Positive values create the array in a counterclockwise
direction; negative values create the ar
ray in a clockwise direction.
6. At command line prompt, choose one of the following:
Yes, Rotate objects as they are arrayed.
No, Do not rotate to retain the original orientation of each copy as it is arrayed.
7. Specify the center point of the array.
8. Specify a second point along the central axis of the array.
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To create a three dimensional polar array, select the object to copy (A), type the number of items to array, specify
the angle the array is to fill (B), and then specify the center point of the array (C) and a second point along the
central axis of the array (D)
Limit the Size of Arrays
If there are a large number of rows and columns for a rectangular array, the system takes a long time to
create the copies. By default, the number of array elements generates by one command is not over
100,000. The value is stored in the system variable MaxArray. It ranges from 100 to 10000000. If you
want to change the value of MaxArray, you must type MaxArray with t
he capitalization shown.
7.2.6.
Move Objects
You can move objects to a new place without changing the objects. You can type a coordinate value for
the new position in the Properties palette.
The following image shows how to move an object. Perform MOVE command and then select an object
(1) to move; specify a base point (2) and Displacement point (3). The object is moved from point 2 to
the point 3.
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In addition to specifying a base point or displacement point on the drawing, you can also type coordinate
value on the command line. The Vector option is also used to define a new position.
To move entities
1. Choose Modify > Move from the main menu.
2. Select the objects, and then press Enter.
3. Specify the base point.
4. Specify the displacement point.
To move an object, select it (A), and then specify the base point (B) and the displacement point (C)
You can also move objects using grips. To move an object through dragging its grips, select the object to
get
its grips highlighted, and then click the desired grip and drag it to a new position. The grip you select
depends on the type of object you're moving. For example, to move a line object, select the midpoint
grip. To move a curved object, such as an arc, circle, or ellipse, select the center point grip. Not all objects
can be moved using grips.
To move an object using grips
1. Select the object.
2. Click a grip to select it.
3. Drag the object to where you want to relocate it.
4. Click to release.
When all endpoints of selected objects are within a selection window, the STRETCH command is
equivalent to the MOVE command. The Ortho or Polar Tracking can help you move objects along to the
exact direction.
From the picture above, the Door is contained entirely in the selection window, so the door can be moved
to the specified location. And the wall lines are only partially within the selection area, as a result, the
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door moves with the wall.
You can specify the dis
tance the objects to move while the Ortho or Polar Tracking mode is on.
7.2.7.
Rotate Objects
You can rotate the selected objects around a specified point.
You can specify the rotated angle by specifying a point on the drawing or entering the angle value directly.
The direction that objects rotate depends on the value you enter is positive or negative. The rotated plane
and direction of zero angles is determined by the azimuth of UCS.
Rotate an Object by a Specified Angle
You can rotate objects by specifying a base point or an angle.
To rotate objects
1. Choose Modify > Rotate from the main menu.
2. Select the objects, and then press Enter.
3. Specify the base point.
4. Specify the rotation angle.
To rotate an object, select the object to rotate (A), and then specify base point (B) and the rotation angle (C)
Rotate an Object to an Absolute Angle
You can also rotate objects by specifying an absolute angle.
To rotate a selection set in reference to an Absolute Angle
1. Choose Modif
y > Rotate from the main menu.
2. Select the objects, and then press Enter.
3. Specify the base point.
4. On the command line, type R (Reference).
5. Specify the reference angle.
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6. Specify the new angle.
To rotate an entity in reference to a base angle, select the entity (A), specify base point (B), select the reference
angle and pick point (B) again (or type the @ symbol), specify the second point (C), and then specify the point
representing the new angle (D)
Rotate an Object in 3D
With the ROTATE command, you can rotate 2D objects. The rotation direction is determined by the
current UCS. The ROTATE3D command is used to rotate objects in the 3D space.
With the use of ROTATE3D, you can define the rotation axis by specifying two points; X, Y, Z axis; or
the Z direction of the current view. The 3D objects can be rotated with either the ROTATE command or
ROTATE3D command.
To rotate an object about an axis in three dimensions
1. Choose Modify > 3D Operation > 3D
Rotate.
2. Select the objects to rotate, and then press Enter.
3. Choose one from the following options: Object, Last, View, X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis,
2points.
4. Specify the rotation angle.
Select the objects to rotate (A), specify the endpoints of the axis of rotation (B and C), and then specify the r otation
angle (D)
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7.2.8.
Align Objects
You can align objects with another through move or rotation. The following picture shows how to align
the piping using Align command.
Aligning in three dimensions
You can align selected objects with other objects in three-dimensional space. You select the objects you
want to align and specify one, two or three pairs of points to align the selected objects.
To align an object with another
1. Choose Modify > 3D Operation > Align from the main menu.
2. Select the objects, and then press Enter.
3. Specify the first source point.
4. Specify the first destination point.
5. Specify additional source and destination points if des
ired (up to three pairs).
Select the objects to align, and then specify the first source point (A), the first de stination point (B), the second
destination point (C), and the second destination point (D)
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You can specify up to three pairs of source/destination points.
7.2.9.
Scale Objects
You can use SCALE command to zoom the selected objects. You can type a scale factor or specify a base
point and distance to zoom objects. A scale factor that is greater than 1 enlarges the object, and a scale
factor that is smaller than 1 shrinks the object.
You can also scale objects by comparing the basic scale and new scale. The objects become larger if the
new scale is large than the basic scale.
The dimension will be scaled along with the object to scale.
To scale a selection set by a scale factor
1. Choose Modify > Scale from the main menu.
2. Select the objects, and then press Enter.
3. Specify the base point.
4. Specify the scale factor.
To scale an object by a s
cale factor, select the object (A), and then specify the base point (B) and the scale factor
You can also scale some objects using grips. To scale an object, you select th e object and then click a
grip. You then change the size of the object by moving the grip. The grip you select depends on the type
of object you're modifying. For example, to scale a circle, select a quadrant point grip.
To scale an object using grips
1. Select the object.
2. Click a grip to select it.
3. Drag the grip.
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4. Click to release.
To scale using grips, select the object (A), click a grip (B), and scale the object by dragging the grip to its new
location (C)
7.2.10. Lengthen Objects
You can change the length of entities or the included angle of arcs. The results are similar to extending
and trimming.
This command does not affect the closed entities.
Use any of the following methods to change the length of an entity:
•
•
Dynamically drag the endpoint or angle.
Specify an increm
ental length or angle measured from an endpoint.
•
•
Specify the new length as a percentage of the total length or angle.
Specify a new length or included an angle.
•
You can change the length of arcs, lines, open polylines, ellipse arc and open spline.
To change the length of an object by dragging
1. Choose Modify > Lengthen from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type DY (DYnamic).
3. Select the object you want to change.
4. Specify the new endpoint or included an angle.
Select the object (A), and then select the new endpoint (B)
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7.2.11. Stretch Objects
You can change the size of objects by stretching them. When you stretch objects, you must select the
objects using either a crossing window or a crossing polygon. You then specify a displacement distance
or select a base point and a displacement point. Objects that cross the window or polygon boundary are
stretched; those completely within the crossing window or crossing polygon are simply moved.
STRETCH stretches arcs, elliptical arcs, lines, polyline segments, 2D solids, rays, traces, and splines that
cross the selection window.
STRETCH moves only endpoints within the selection window, leaving those outside unchanged. The
polyline is treated as the composition of line straight and arc when being stretched. STRETCH does not
affect 3D solids, polyline width, tangent or curve-fitting information.
When stretching objects, you have to specify a base point and displacement point. You should use
crossing selection to select the desired objects. With using grip edition, you can also stretch objects.
To stretch an object
1. Choose Modify > Stretch from the main menu.
2. Select the objects using either a crossing window or a crossing polygon, and then
press Enter.
3. Specify the base point.
4. Specify the second point of displacement.
To stretch objects, select them using a crossing window (A) or crossing polygon, and then specify the base point (B)
and displacement point (C)
To st
retch an object using grips, you select it to display its grips and then select a grip to make it the
active grip. This becomes the base point. Then you move the active grip to a new location. The grip you
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select depends on the type of object you're modifying. For example, to stretch one corner of a rectangle,
select the corner point grip.
To stretch a line, select an endpoint grip. Not all objects can be stretched using grips.
To stretch an object using grips
1. Select the object.
2. Click a grip to activate it.
3. Drag the grip.
4. Click to release.
To stretch an object using grips, select the object (A), select a grip (B), and drag the grip to its new location (C)
7.2.12. Trim or Extend Objects
You can connect edges of objects through trimming or extending.
When trimming or extending objects, you have to specify cutting edges or boundary to extend, then you
can select objects to cut or extend. Pressing ENTER at the prompt of selecting entities, all entities
are
the possible boundaries, which call hidden selection.
If you want to select blocks as cutting edges, you can only use the single selection, Crossing, Fence, and
Select All options.
Trim Objects
You can clip, or trim, objects so they end at one or more implied cutting edges defined by other objects.
You can also trim objects to the point at which they would intersect an implied cutting edge. When
trimming objects, you first select the cutting edges and then specify the objects to trim, selecting them
either one at a time or using the fence selection method.
You can trim arcs, circles, lines, unclosed polylines, and rays. In which, arcs, circles, lines, polylines,
rays, infinite lines, and viewports on a Layout tab can act as cutting edges.
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To trim an object
1. Choose Modify > Trim from the main menu.
2. Select one or more cutting edges, and then press Enter.
3. Select the object to trim.
4. Select another object to trim, or press Enter to complete the comma
nd.
To trim objects, select the cutting edge (A), and then select the objects to trim (B)
Holding down SHIFT while selecting objects, the system extends the object to the nearest boundary
instead of trimming selecting an object.
In this example, you clean up the intersection of two walls smoothly by trimming.
Using variable selection methods while trimming several objects can help you select edges or objects
more easily.
In the following example, the cutting edges are selected using crossing selection.
To trim several objects using the fence selection method
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1. Choose Modify > Trim from the main menu.
2. Select one or more cutting edges, and then press Enter.
3. On the command line, type F (Fence).
4. Specify the first point of the fence.
5. Specify the second point of the fence.
6. Specify the next fence point, or press Enter to complete the command.
Select the boundary edge (A), and then specify the first point (B) and second point (C) of the fence
You c
an trim objects to the nearest point of other objects. Selecting objects and clicking objects to trim,
the system specifies the nearest objects as the cutting edges. The following picture shows that the
crossing boundary is smooth after trimming.
Extend Objects
You can extend objects so that they end at a boundary defined by other objects. You can also extend
objects to the point at which they would intersect an implied boundary edge. When extending objects,
you first select the boundary edges and then specify the objects to extend by way of selecting them one
by one or using the fence selection method.
You can extend arcs, lines, two-dimensional polylines, and rays. Arcs, circles, ellipses, lines, splines,
polylines, rays, infinite lines, and viewports on a Layout tab can act as boundary edges.
In this example, you extend the lines precisely to a circle, which is the boundary edge.
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To extend an object
1. Choose Modify > Extend from the main menu.
2. Select on
e or more objects as boundary edges, and then press Enter.
3. Select the object to extend.
4. Select another object to extend, or press Enter to complete the command.
To extend objects, select the boundary edge (A), and then select the objects to extend (B)
To extend an object to an implied boundary
1. Choose Modify > Extend from the main menu.
2. Select one or more boundary edges, and then press Enter.
3. On the command line, type E (Edge).
4. On the command line, type E (Extend).
5. Select the object to extend.
6. Select another object to extend, or press Enter to complete the command.
Select the boundary edge (A), and then select the objects to extend (B)
To extend several objects using the fence selection method
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1. Choose Modify > Extend from the main menu.
2. Select one or more boundary edges, and then press Enter.
3. On the command line, type F (Fence).
4. Specify the first point of the fence.
5. Specify the second point of the fence.
6. Specify the n
ext fence point, or press Enter to complete the command.
Select the boundary edge (A), and then specify the first point (B) and second point (C) o f the fence
TRIM can also be used to extend objects. At the prompts of selecting entities, holding down SHIFT and
selecting objects to extend. As a result, the objects are extending instead of trimming.
Trim and Extend Wide Polylines
The system processes the center line if the object is 2D wide polyline. If the polyline is a pyramid, the
width of cutting edge keeps unchanged after trimming.
When you extend a wide polyline, its centerline intersects the boundary edge. Because the end of the
polyline is always cut at a 90-degree angle, part of the polyline may extend past the boundary edge. A
tapered polyline continues to taper until it intersects the boundary edge. If this would result in a negative
polyline width, the ending width changes to 0.
A tapered polyline (A) continues to taper until it intersects the boundary edge (B)
The ends
of wide polylines are always square. Trimming a wide polyline at an angle leads to portions of
the end to extend beyond the cutting edge. Trimming a spline-fit polyline deletes curve-fit information
and converts spline-fit segments to ordinary polyline segments.
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Trim or Extend in 3D
You can trim or extend objects even the objects are in the different planes in 3D space.
The system variable PROJMODE and EDGEMODE control the following project models:
•
•
XY plane of the Current UCS.
Current view plane.
•
3D realty space (not projection).
Attentively, when you trim or extend objects 3D space, the objects to cut or extend must be intersected
with the boundary of the 3D boundary. The objects to trim or extend may not conclude exactly if they do
not intersect with each other when you work at the XY plane of the current UCS.
7.2.13. Create Breaks
You can break arcs, circles, ellipses, lines, polylines, rays, and infinite lines. When breaking entities, you
m
ust specify two points for the break. By default, the point you use to select the entity becomes the first
breakpoint; however, you can use the First breakpoint option to select a breakpoint different from the
one that selects the entity.
To break an object
1. Choose to Modify > Break from the main menu.
2. Select the object.
3. Specify the second break point.
Select the object (A), and then specify the second break point (B)
To select an object and then specify the two break points
1. Choose to Modify > Break from the main menu.
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2. Select the object.
3. On the command line, type F (First point).
4. Specify the first break point.
5. Specify the second break point.
Select the object (A), and then specify the first (B) and second (C) breakpoints
TIP To break an object in two without removing a portion of the object, specify the same point for the
first and second break points by typing the at sign (@) and pressing enter instead of specifying thesecond
break p
oint.
7.2.14. Create Chamfers
You can connect two nonparallel objects by extending or trimming them and then joining them with a
line to create a beveled edge. You can chamfer lines, polylines, rays, and infinite lines. When creating a
chamfer, you can specify how far to trim the objects back from their intersection (distance method), or
you can specify the length of the chamfer and the angle it forms along the first object (distance angle
method).
When chamfering a polyline, you can chamfer multiple segments between two selected polyline
segments, or you can chamfer the entire polyline.
If two objects to chamfer on the same layer, the chamfer line lies on the layer as the object does; otherwise,
the chamfer line lies on the current layer which controls the properties of the line. The multiple options
can help you chamfer multiple objects at one time.
Chamfer by Specifying Distances
The chamfer distance is the amount each entity is trimmed or extended to meet the chamfer line or to
i
ntersect the other. If both chamfer distances are 0, chamfering trims or extend the two entities until they
intersect instead of creating a chamfer line.
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The default setting for the first distance is the last one you have specified, and the second distance is the
same as the first one. However, you can reset the desired chamfer distance.
To chamfer two objects using the distance-distance method
1. Choose Modify > Chamfer from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type D (Distance).
3. Specify the first chamfer distance.
4. Specify the second chamfer distance.
5. Select the first object to chamfer.
6. Select the second object to chamfer.
Left: Select the first (A) and second (B) objects
Right: The chamfer is drawn, based on the first (C) and second (D) chamfer distances
Trim and Extend Chamfered Objects
If the objects to chamfer are two intersecting lines, and you select the Trim option to chamfer objects,
the system automatically trims lines to the endpoint o
f the chamfered line. If the selected lines are not
intersecting with each other, the system extends them to get intersectant.
If you select No Trim, the system creates chamfer directly and not to trim.
Chamfer by Specify Length and Angle
You can chamfer objects by specifying a start point and an angle.
To chamfer two objects using the distance-angle method
1. Choose Modify > Chamfer from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type A (Angle).
3. Specify chamfer length on the first line.
4. Specify chamfer angle from the first line.
5. Select the first object to chamfer.
6. Select the second object to chamfer.
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Left: Select the first (A) and second (B) objects
Right: The chamfer is drawn, based on the distance (C) and the angle (D)
Chamfer Polylines and Polyline Segments
You can create a chamfer line for two segments of a polyline that are adjacent or separated by no more
than one arc segment. As shown in the illustration, if they separated by an arc segment, th
e arc is deleted
and replaced with a chamfer line.
To chamfer selected vertices in a polyline
1. Choose Modify > Chamfer from the main menu.
2. Select the polyline along the segment where you want to begin the chamfer.
3. Select the polyline along the segment where you want to end the chamfer.
Select the polyline along the (A) and (B) segments
Chamfer an Entire Polyline
You can use Polyline option to create chamfer lines for each intersection of an entire polyline. To get the
best results keeps the first and second chamfer distance equal.
To chamfer all vertices in a polyline
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1. Choose Modify > Chamfer from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type P (Polyline).
3. Select the polyline.
Original polyline
Result after chamfering
When chamfering an entire polyline, only accommodated chamfer distance can create a chamfer line. As
shown in the illustration, some segments are too short to create a chamfer line.
7.2.15. Create Fillets
You can create a fillet u
sing FILLET command. This command can apply to the objects such as arcs,
circles, ellipses, lines, polylines, rays, splines or construction lines as well as 3D solid s. A fillet is an arc
that connects two objects smoothly and has a specified radius. An inside corner is called a fillet; an
outside corner is called around.
To fillet two objects
1. Choose Modify > Fillet from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type R (Radi us).
3. Specify the fillet radius.
4. Select the first object.
5. Select the second object.
Select the first (A) and second (B) objects
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Using FILLET command can help you create an arc that is tangent to the selected objects easily. You can
also use Polyline option to create fillets for each corner of a polyline.
When the objects to fillet are on the same layer, the fillet arc is created on that layer; otherwise, the fillet
arc is created on the current layer that affects the properties of objects such as color and linetype. The
Multiple opt
ions can create fillets for more than one set of objects until you exit the command.
Set the Fillet Radius
You can specify the radius of a fillet arc connecting two objects. The latest value is always the current
radius value. This setting is only available when you create a new fillet arc. When the radius is set to 0,
the objects to fillet are trim or extend to get intersecting, but not create a fillet arc.
Trim and Extend Filleted Objects
While performing fillet, you can select Trim option to decide whether the selected edges are extended to
the endpoints of fillet arcs. By default, all objects except circles, ellipses, closed polylines and splines
are trimmed or extended when performing filleting.
When system variable TRIMMODE is set to 1, FILLET trims the intersecting lines to the endpoint of
the fillet arc. If the lines do not get intersecting, the system extends or trims them to get intersecting.
Specify the Location of the Fillet
When the objects to fillet are a line and an a
rc or a circle, there are several potential fillets and system
creates the fillet with the endpoint of arc at the nearest the selected point. The location of fillets depends
on the place of the objects you specify. As shown in the following picture:
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Select objects (A and B)
Fillet Line and Polyline Combinations
If the objects to fillet are a line and a polyline, the line or its extension must be intersecting with one of
the polyline segments. With the Trim option on, the filleted objects join with the filleted arc to form a
new polyline.
Fillet an Entire Polyline
You can use Polyline option to create fillets for each corner of a polyline.
To fillet an entire polyline
1. Choose Modify > Fillet from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type P (Pol yline).
3. Select the polyline.
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Select the polyline (A)
Before creating fillets, you should ensure the distance between each vertex is long enough to
accommodate the fillet radius in order
to insert a fillet arc.
The fillet arcs replace arc segments when the fillet radius is greater than the radius of the arc. As shown
in the illustration:
When the fillet radius is set to 0, no fillet arcs are inserted. If two polyline segments are separated by one
arc segments, the system deletes this arc segment and extends the lines to intersect with each other.
To fillet selected vertices in a polyline
1. Choose Modify > Fillet from the main menu.
2. Select the polyline along the segment where you want to begin the fillet.
3. Select the polyline along the segment where you want to end the fillet.
Select the polyline along the (A) and (B) segments
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Fillet Parallel Lines
You can fillet parallel lines, rays, and infinite lines. The first entity must be a line or ray, the second entity
can be a line, ray, or infinite line. The diameter of the fillet arc is always equal to the distance between
the parallel entities. The current fillet radius is ignored.
Origina
l entities
Result after filleting
7.3. Modify Compound Objects
7.3.1.
Disassociate Compound Objects
You can convert a complex entity, such as a block or polyline, from a single entity into its component
parts. Exploding a polyline, rectangle, donut, polygon, dimension, or leader reduces it to a collection of
individual line and arc entities that you can then modify individually. Blocks are converted to the
individual entities, possibly including other, nested blocks that composed the original entity.
With the following exceptions, exploding an entity usually has no visible effect on a drawing:
•
If the original polyline had a width, the width information is lost when you explode it. The
resulting lines and arcs follow the centerline of the original polyline. If you explode a donut, its
width becomes 0.
•
If you explode a block containing attributes, the attributes are lost, but the original attribute
definitions are retained. The colors and linetypes of objects in exploded b
lock references can be
modified individually.
Colors, linetypes, lineweights, and print styles assigned BYBLOCK may be different after exploding an
entity because they will adopt the default color, linetype, lineweight, and print style until inserted into
another block.
Explode Polylines
You can explode polylines into simple line segments and arc segments, which neglects the width of a
polyline. The exploded lines and arcs are placed along to the center line of the polyline. To be taken as a
polyline object, the donut would be changed into two arcs that form a circle (with width as 0) after
exploding.
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Explode Dimensions and Hatches
You can explode a dimension or a hatch into individual objects (such as lines, texts, points and 2D solids).
All associativity is lost after exploding.
Explode Block References
You can explode a block reference into individual objects. If a block to be exploded contains attributes,
the attribute values are lost and leaving attribut
e definition. If you explode a block that contains polyline
objects, you have to explode the polyline separately.
To explode a block
1. Choose Modify > Explode from the main menu.
2. Select the block.
3. Press Enter.
Explode External References
You can not explode external references or the dependent blocks as they are linked or attached to another
drawing.
7.3.2.
Modify Polylines
You can modify any type of two dimensional or three-dimensional polyline. Objects such as rectangles,
polygons, and donuts, as well as three-dimensional objects such as pyramids, cylinders, and spheres, are
all editable polylines
You can edit a polyline by opening or closing it, by changing its overall width or the widths of individual
segments, and by converting a polyline with straight line segments into a flowing curve or an
approximation of a spline. In addition, you can use the Edit Polyline tool to edit individual vertices,
adding, removing, or moving vertices. You can also add new segments to an ex
isting polyline, change
the linetypes of a polyline, and reverse the direction or order of the vertices.
To modify a polyline, you first select the polyline and then select a polyline editing option. The available
options vary depending on whether the selected polyline is a two dimensional or three-dimensional object.
If the selected object is not a polyline, the Edit Polyline tool provides the option of turning it into one.
You can convert only arcs and lines into polylines. If several arcs or lines are joined endpoint to endpoint,
they can all be selected and turned into one polyline.
To convert an object into a polyline
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1. Choose Modify > Object > Polyline from the main menu.
2. Select the object.
3. On the command line, type Y.
4. On the command line, type another option, or press Enter to complete the
command.
Joined Polyline Segments
If the ends of a line or arc are connected or are close to each other, you can join them to an open polyline
by trimming or
extending.
Modify Properties of Polylines
If the properties of several objects being joined into a polyline are different, such as color and linetype,
the new polyline inherits the properties of the first object that you selected. You can also set properties
of the new polyline in the Properties palette.
Close
When you close a polyline, the program draws a straight polyline segment from the last vertex of the
polyline to the first vertex. The system considers the polyline open unless you close it using the Close
option.
To close an open polyline
1. Choose Modify > Object > Polyline from the main menu.
2.
3.
Select the polyline.
On the command line, type C (Close).
4.
On the command line, type another option, or press Enter to complete the command.
Closing an open polyline adds a straight polyline segment between the first (A) and last (B) vertices
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Open
If the polylines to be edited is closed, you can convert it into an open one by using the OPEN option t
o
delete the latest drawn segments of the polyline.
Join
You can add an arc, line, or polyline object to an existing open polyline, forming one continuous polyline
object. To join an object to a polyline, that object must already share an endpoint with an end vertex of
the selected polyline.
When you join an object to a polyline, the width of the new polyline segment depends on the width of
the original polyline and the type of object you are joining to it:
•
A line or an arc assumes the same width as the polyline segment for the end vertex to which it
is joined.
•
•
A polyline joined to a tapered polyline retains its own width values.
A polyline joined to a uniform-width polyline assumes the width of the polyline to which it is
joined.
To join an arc, line, or polyline to an existing polyline
1. Choose Modify > Object > Polyline from the main menu.
2. Select the polyline.
3. On the command line, type J (Join).
4. Select the arc, line, or polyline to join.
5. On the command l
ine, type another option, or press Enter to complete the
command.
Width
Specifies the uniform width for all segments of selected polylines. Using Width option while performing
"Edit vertex", you can specify the width of the start point and end point.
You can change the width of an entire polyline, applying a uniform width to the polyline or assigning
tapering width with gradient size.
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To apply a uniform width to an entire polyline
1. Choose Modify > Object > Polyline from the main menu.
2. Select the polyline.
3. On the command line, type W (Width).
4. Specify the new polyline width.
5. On the command line, type another option, or press Enter to complete the
command.
To apply a tapering width to a polyline
1. Choose Modify > Object > Polyline from the main menu.
2. Select the polyline.
3. On the command line, type T (Taper).
4. Specify the starting width.
5. Specify the ending width.
6. On the command line, type another option, or press Enter to c omplete the
command.
Edit vertex
You can use the Edit Vertices option to modify individual polyline vertices. When you select this option,
the program switches into a special vertex editing mode and places an x on the first vertex. The x indicates
the vertex you are editing. The Next and Previous options move the x to the next or previous vertex. You
can edit only one vertex at a time.
When editing vertices, you can modify the polyline in the following ways:
•
Convert a polyline segment into a curve by specifying a new tangent angle.
•
•
Break a polyline into two separate polylines.
Insert a new vertex after the current vertex.
•
•
Move the current vertex.
Straighten the polyline segment between two vertices.
•
Change the width of the polyline segment between two vertices.
To move a polyline vertex
1. Choose Modify > Object > Polyline from the main menu.
2. Select the polyline.
3. On the command line, type E (Edit vertex).
4. On the command line, type N (Next). Repeat until th
e X maker reaches the vertex
you want to move.
5. On the command line, type M (Move).
6. Specify the new location for the made vertex.
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7. On the command line, type another option, or type Exit to complete the command.
8. On the command line, type another option, or press Enter to complete the
command.
Select the polyline (A), move the current vertex marker to the vertex you want to move (B), and then specify the
new vertex location (C)
To taper the width of an individual polyline segment
1. Choose Modify > Object > Polyline from the main menu.
2. Select the polyline.
3. On the command line, type E (Edit vertex).
4. On the command line, type N (Next). Repeat until the X maker reaches the first
vertex of the segment you want to taper.
5. On the command line, type W (Width).
6. Specify the starting width.
7. Specify the ending width.
8. On the command line, type another option, or type Exit to complete the command.
9. On the command line, type another option, or
press Enter to complete the
command.
Select the polyline (A), move the current vertex marker to the first vertex of the segment you want to taper (B), and
then specify the new starting and ending widths for that segment.
Fit
You can create an arc-fit polyline, a smooth curve joining each pair of vertices. The curve passes through
all vertices of the polyline.
To fit a curve to a polyline
1. Choose Modify > Object > Polyline from the main menu.
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2. Select the polyline.
3. On the command line, type F (Fit).
4. On the command line, type another option, or press Enter to complete the
command.
Spline
Converts a polyline into a spline. Specifies the vertices of the selected polyline as the control points or
frame of a curve approximating a B-spline. The curve passes through the first and last control points
unless the polyline is closed.
Original polyline
After applying Fit curve
After applying Spline
Decurve
Straights splines fit curves with Fit option or splin
es created with Spline option.
Ltype gen
Changes the linetype of a polyline. When this option is off, linetypes are generated starting and ending
with a dashed line at each vertex.
7.3.3.
Modify Multilines
You can use the methods such as common editing commands, a multiline editing command and multiline
styles to edit multiline or their elements.
Add and Delete Multiline Vertices
You can use MLEDIT to add or delete vertices for a multiline. As shown in the illustration.
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Edit Multiline Intersections
You can control the way two multiline intersect using MLEDIT. The ways include cross and T shape that
can be closed, open or merged.
Edit Multiline Styles
You can use MLSTYLE to add multiline style or set multiline from the existing multiline style, such as
the number of elements, color, linetype, lineweight and the offset of each element. You can also edit the
end caps and background fill.
The element and multiline properties of the STANDARD multiline sty le a
re not allowed to modify. The
current multiline style already used in the drawing is not allowed to modify too. You should edit multiline
style before using it.
If you create a new style without saving the previous one, the properties of the previous one are lost. To
maintain the properties, you have better to save each multiline style to an MLN file before creating a
new one.
7.4. Use Grips to Edit Objects
Grips are small squares displayed at the strategic points on objects while you selecting objects.
As you select each entity, it is highlighted with small squares called grips, which appear at strategic
points on the entity.
The locations of the grips depend on the type of object selected. For example, grips appear at the
endpoints and midpoint of a line, at the quadrant points and the center point of a circle, and at the
endpoints, midpoint, and center of an arc.
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Examples of grip locations
To use grips for editing, you select an object to display the grips,
and then click a grip to make it active.
The grip you select depends on the type of object you're modifying and the editing operation you're
performing. For example, to move a line object, drag it by its midpoint grip.
To stretch the line, drag one of the endpoint grips. You do not need to enter a command when using grips.
7.4.1.
Control Status and Displaying of Grips
You can turn the use of grips on and off and control the size and color of grips under a different status.
To change grip settings
1. Choose Tools > Options from the main menu.
2. In the Options dialog box, click the Selection tab.
3. In the Grip Size, specify the size.
4. In the Grips, click Enable grips.
5. Set the Unselected grip color, Selected grip color and Hover grip color separately,
to assign colors for grips under a different status.
6. Click OK.
You can use grips to modify objects, such as move, stretch, scale, and copy. With the Grips on, the
location of grips depending on the type of objects are displayed
as follows:
When you perform quadrant grips on circles, the distance is measured from the center point, but not the
selected grip. For example, in Stretch mode, you can select a quadrant grip to stretch a circle, and then
specify a distance at the prompt of "New circle radius". The distance is measured from the center point,
but not the selected quadrant. If you select the center point, the circle moves.
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When a 2D solid is not lie on the current UCS, the object is stretched on the plane that the object is
created, but not on the plane of the current UCS.
The system variable GRIPOBJLIMIT is used to control the number of grips displayed on the selected
object. The value of GRIPOBJLIMIT is not available when you add an object to the current selection set.
Control Grips in Blocks
The system variable GRIPBLOCK is used to control whether the inserted block displays a single grip or
all of the grips.
7.4.2.
Grip Edit Mode
One type of edit mode called grip mode is
to perform manipulations such as stretch, move, rotate, scale
or mirror by dragging grips on entities. Stretch is the default grip edit mode, select the grips to edit when
you want to stretch the selected entity, the grip is displayedd in selected grip color, and then right-click
to select from manipulations menu.
If you press ENTER or SPACE key after selecting grips, all the grip modes d isplay from which you can
choose to perform one of the grip editing manipulations.
7.4.3.
Grip Stretch Mode
Stretch mode is the default mode for grip editing. Once you have selected entities, click the grips on
entities to display command line prompt as follows:
Specify the stretch point or [Base point/Copy/Undo/eXit]:
Under the prompt, you can specify a new position in the drawing area where the grip is expected to be
stretched. You should notice that when stretching grips on the selected grips such as single text point,
insertion point of block reference, the midpoint of a line, the center of cir
cle and grips on point object,
the whole entity will be moved without changing the size and shape of grips. The type of entities
determines whether the grips are capable of being stretched. For example, to stretch a corner of a
rectangle, select the corner grips, to stretch a line, select the endpoint grips. Not all of the objects are
enabled grip stretching.
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Stretch Entities using Grip Stretch
1. Select entities to stretch.
2. Click on grips of the entity to highlight the selected grip and activate the grip mode
as Stretch.
3. Dynamic input box displayed on screen showing the following manipulations:
Specify "B(Base point)" option to locate the grip.
Specify "C(Copy)" option to create a copy of the entity being stretched.
Specify "U(Undo)" option to abort the last stretch.
Specify "X(eXit)" option to exit stretch manipulation.
Specify target location for stretching directly.
4. Move the pointing device to specify target location, the selected grip on entities
will be stretched based on itself (or the new base point).
To stretch an object using grips, select the object (A), select a grip (B), and drag the grip to its new location (C).
Grip Move Mode
With grip move mode, you can move selected entities by moving its grips. The entity with specified grips
will be highlighted and moved according to the specified orientation and position.
Objects of various types need to be moved through different grips. For example, to move a line, use the
midpoint as grip, to move curve objects, like arc, circle or ellipse, select center point or grip. Not all the
entities are enabled grip moving.
If you press ENTER or SPACE key after selecting grips, all the grip modes are displayed, choose to
Move and then command line prompts as follows:
Specify the move point or [Base point/Copy/Undo/eXit]:
Move one or more Entities
1. Select entities to move.
2. Click on grips of the entity to highlight the selected grip and activate the grip mode
as Stretch.
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3. Press ENTER to iterate grip mode until Move appears in command line. Dynamic
input box displayed on screen showing the following manipulations:
Specify "B(Base point)" option to locate the grip.
Specify "C(Copy)" option to create a copy of the entity being moved.
Specify "U(Undo)" option to abort last moving.
Specify "X(eXit)" option to exit move manipulation.
Specify target location to grips directly.
4. Move the pointing device to specify target location, the selected grip on objects
will be moved towards the orientation and displacement along the connecting line
of the selected grip and the target point (or create a copy of the entity after moving).
Grip Rotate Mode
With grip rotate mode, you can rotate selected entities around the base point, .or rotate by the angle
specified for rotating either.
If you press ENTER or SPACE key after selecting grips on entities, choose Rotate from the grip editing
mode and then command line prompts as follows:
Specify the rotation
angle or [Base point/Copy/Undo/Reference/eXit]:
Rotate Entities Using Grips
1. Select entities to rotate.
2. Click on the grip of the entity to highlight the selected grip and activate the grip
mode as Stretch.
3. Press ENTER to iterate grip mode until Rotate appears in command line. Dynamic
input box displayed on screen showing the following manipulations:
Specify "B(Base point)" option to select a base point for rotating.
Specify "C(Copy)" option to create a copy of the entity being rotated.
Specify "U(Undo)" option to abort last rotating.
Specify "X(eXit)" option to exit Rotate manipulation.
Specify "R(Reference)" option to assign reference angle for rotation. (Final rotation
angle=reference angle subtract from input angle. For example: reference angle = 20, input
angle= 80, final rotation angle = 80 - 20 = 60).
4. Specify rotation angle for grips directly.
5. Move the pointing device and specify rotation angle, the entities rotate centered
by the selected grip (or create a copy of
the entity after rotation).
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Grip Scale Mode
With grip scale mode, you can scale selected entities relative to the base point. Drag the entity outwards
the base grip to enlarge its size, and drag inwards to decrease the size. You can also specify a scale factor
to scale selected entities.
Grips are selected depending on the type of entity. For example, to scale a circle, use the quadrant point
as a grip.
If you press ENTER or SPACE key after selecting grips, all the grip modes are displayed, choose Scale
and then command line prompts as follows:
Specify the scale factor or [Base point/Copy/Undo/Reference/eXit]:
Scale Entities Using Grips
1. Select entities to scale.
2. Click on grips of the entity to highlight the selected grip and activate the default
grip mode as Stretch.
3. Press ENTER to iterate grip mode until Scale appears in command line. Dynamic
input box displayed on screen showing the following manipulations:
Specify "B(Base point)" option to relocate
the base grip for scaling.
Specify "C(Copy)" option to create a copy of the entity being scaled.
Specify "U(Undo)" option to abort the last scaling.
Specify "X(eXit)" option to exit scale manipulation.
Specify "R(Reference)"option to assign reference scale factor. (For example, input scale
factor as 5, to scale the entity to five-times that of its original size). Then dynamic input
box displays on the screen, in which you are prompt to enter new length (if input 3, the
entity will be scaled at factor 3/5).
4. Specify scale factor for grips directly.
5. Move the pointing device to specify target grips, the entity will be scaled based on
the selected grips with the factor you specified (or create a copy of the entity after
scaling).
To scale using grips, select the object (A), click a grip (B), and scale the object by dragging the grip to its new
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location (C).
Grip Mirror Mode
With grip mirror mode, you can create mirrored copies of selected entities along tempo
rary mirror line.
If you press ENTER or SPACE key after selecting grips, all the grip modes are displayed, choose Mirror
and then command line prompts as follows:
Specify the second point or [Base point/Copy/Undo/eXit]:
Create Mirrored Copies Using Grips
1. Select entities to mirror.
2. Click on grips to highlight the selected grip and activate the default grip mode as
Stretch.
3. Press ENTER to iterate grip mode until Mirror appears in command line. Dynamic
input box displayed on screen showing the following manipulations:
Specify "B(Base point)" option to relocate the base grip.
Specify "C(Copy)" option to create a copy of the entity being mirrored.
Specify "U(Undo)" option to abort the last mirroring.
Specify "X(eXit)" option to exit mirror manipulation.
4. Move the pointing device to specify second mirror point, the entity will be mirrored
along the line connecting the selected grip on objects and the second mirror point
(or create a copy of the entity after mirroring).
7.4.4.
Mu
lti-Grips Edit Mode
It's also enabled to manipulate grip edit mode using multiple grips. You can press SHIFT to select
multiple grips. Once you have selected multiple entities (called hot multi-grip selection), the part of
entities among grips will not change.
Using Multi-Grips edit mode is sorted into the following two cases:
•
To move, rotate, scale or mirror entities, using multiple grips on them equals to use the last
selected grip as a base point (base grip or newly selected base point).
•
To stretch entities, multi-grips are selected depending on the type of entities, when you selected
single text point, insertion point of block reference, the midpoint of a line, the center of circle
and grips on a point object as hot grips, the entities will be moved rather than stretched.
Multi-Grips Stretch Mode
Select multiple grips of different entities to stretch separately depend on the entity types.
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Stretch Lines, Polylines, and Dimensions Using Multiple G
rips
1. Select line, polyline and dimension entities to stretch.
2. Press SHIFT while selecting grips on entities, the selected grips will be highlighted.
3. Release SHIFT and click on one of the selected grips to use it as base grip and
activate the default grip mode as Stretch. Dynamic input box displayed on screen
showing the following manipulations:
Specify "B(Base point)" option to locate the grip for stretching.
Specify "C(Copy)" option to create a copy of the entity being stretched.
Specify "U(Undo)" option to abort the last stretch.
Specify "X(eXit)" option to exit stretch manipulation.
Specify target location for stretching directly.
4. Move the pointing device to specify target grips, the selected grips on entities will
be stretched or moved towards the direction pointing from the base grip to the
target location (single text point, insertion point of block reference, the midpoint
of a line, the center of circle and grips on point object).
Multi-Grips Move Mode
Move entities
with multiple grips mode, use the last grip (base grip or reselected base point) as a base
point.
Move Lines, Polylines, and Dimensions Using Multiple Grips
1. Select line, polyline and dimension entities to move.
2. Press SHIFT while selecting grips on entities, the selected grips will be highlighted.
3. Release SHIFT and click on one of the selected grips to use it as a base grip.
4. Press ENTER to activate the default grip mode as Stretch. Iterate grip mode until
Move appears in command line. Dynamic input box displayed on screen showing
the following manipulations:
Specify "B(Base point)" option to locate the base point for moving.
Specify "C(Copy)" option to create a copy of the entity being moved.
Specify "U(Undo)" option to abort last moving.
Specify "X(eXit)" option to exit move manipulation.
Specify target location for moving directly.
5. Move the pointing device to specify target location, the selected grips on entities
will be moved at a specified displacement towards the d
irection pointing from the
base grip to the target location.
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Multi-Grips Rotate Mode
Rotate entities with multiple grips mode, use the last grip (base grip or reselected base point) as a base
point.
Rotate Lines, Polylines and Dimensions Using Multiple Grips
1. Select line, polyline and dimension entities to rotate.
2. Press SHIFT while selecting grips on entities, the selected grips will be highlighted.
3. Release SHIFT and click on one of the selected grips to use it as a base grip.
4. Press ENTER to activate the default grip mode as Stretch. Iterate grip mode until
Rotate appears in command line. Dynamic input box displayed on screen showing
the following manipulations:
Specify "B(Base point)" option to locate the grip for rotating.
Specify "C(Copy)" option to create a copy of the entity being rotated.
Specify "U(Undo)" option to abort last rotation.
Specify "X(eXit)" option to exit rotate manipulation.
Specify "R(Reference)" option to assign reference angle
for rotation. (Final rotation
angle=reference angle subtract from input angle. For example: reference angle = 20, input
angle= 80, final rotation angle = 80 - 20 = 60).
Specify rotation angle for grips directly.
5. Move the pointing device to specify rotation angle, the entities will be rotated
based on the selected grip (or create a copy of the entity after rotation).
Multi-Grips Scale Mode
Scale entities with multiple grips mode, use the last grip (base grip or reselected base point) as a base
point.
Scale Lines, Polylines, and Dimensions Using Multiple Grips
1. Select line, polyline and dimension entities to scale.
2. Press SHIFT while selecting grips on entities, the selected grips will be highlighted.
3. Release SHIFT and click on one of the selected grips to use it as a base grip.
4. Press ENTER to activate the default grip mode as Stretch. Iterate grip mode until
Scale appears in command line. Dynamic input box displayed on screen showing
the following manipulations:
Specify "
B(Base point)" option to locate the grip for scaling.
Specify "C(Copy)" option to create a copy of the entity being scaled.
Specify "U(Undo)" option to abort the last scaling.
Specify "X(eXit)" option to exit scale manipulation.
Specify "R(Reference)"option to assign reference scale factor. (For example, input scale
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factor as 5, to scale the entity to 5 times of its original size). Then dynamic input box
displays on the screen, in which you are prompt to enter new length (if input 3, the entity
will be scaled with the factor 3/5).
Specify scale factor for grips directly.
5. Move the pointing device to specify target grips, the entity will be scaled based on
the selected grips with the factor you specified (or create a copy of the entity after
scaling).
Multi-Grips Mirror Mode
Mirror entities and create their copies with multiple grips mode, use the last grip (base grip or reselected
base point) as a base point.
Mirror Lines, Polylines, and Dimensions Using Mult
iple Grips
1. Select line, polyline and dimension entities to mirror.
2. Press SHIFT while selecting grips on entities, the selected grips will be highlighted.
3. Release SHIFT and click on one of the selected grips to use it as a base grip.
4. Press ENTER to activate the default grip mode as Stretch. Iterate grip mode until
Mirror appears in command line. Dynamic input box displayed on screen showing
the following manipulations:
Specify "B(Base point)" option to relocate the base grip.
Specify "C(Copy)" option to create a copy of the entity being mirrored.
Specify "U(Undo)" option to abort the last mirroring.
Specify "X(eXit)" option to exit mirror manipulation.
5. Move the pointing device to specify second mirror point, the entity will be mirrored
along the line connecting the selected grip on objects and the second mirror point
(or create a copy of the entity after mirroring).
7.5. Modify the Properties of Objects
7.5.1.
Overview of Object Properties
You can display information a
bout the selected entities. The information varies, depending on the type
of entities you select. All of the listings display the following information:
•
•
Entity type.
Layer.
•
•
Color.
Linetype.
The location of the entity (its XYZ-coordinates relative to the current user coordinate system [UCS]).
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The size of the entity (the information varies, depending on the entity type).
The layer, color, linetype are the common properties that most of the objects possess. There are a few
properties that some individual objects possess, such as radius and area of a circle, length , and angle of
a line.
Most of the properties can be applied to an object by layer or applied to an object directly.
If value BYLAYER is set to the property value, the object has the same value as the layer on which it is
drawn. For example, if you set Yellow to the layer 0 and assign value BYLAYER to the lines that were
drawn on the layer 0, its color is yellow too.
You can also speci
fy a new value to overwrite the layer's value. For example, yellow is assigned to the
layer 0 and the value of lines is set to blue, the color of lines is blue.
You can use the following methods to display or modify the object properties:
•
View or change properties in the Properties palette.
•
View or modify layer controls on the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, might change Color,
Linetype, Lineweight at the Properties toolbar as well.
•
•
Use command LIST to view the information in the text window.
Use command ID to display the coordinate of the specified point
Properties palette
The Properties palette shows all properties of the specified object. You can change them in this palette.
When selecting multiple objects, the Properties palette shows the command properties of the selected
objects.
If none of the objects is selected, the Properties palette displays the general properties of the current layer,
View properties as well as the UCS information.
By default, dou
ble-click an object opens Properties palette if the Properties palette is hidden. This
operation is not available when the objects are block, hatch pattern, text, multiline, external reference or
gradient fill.
7.5.2.
Change the Properties of Objects
You can change the layer, thickness, linetype, color, and linetype scale of one or more entities. Depending
on the type of entity or entities you select, you can also change other properties, such as the start point
and endpoint of lines, the center point and radius of circles, and the vertices of polylines.
You can modify all the properties of all entities simultaneously. For example, using the select command
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and the Select by Properties option, select all blue entities and change their color to green.
In the Properties dialog box, changes that you make in the Layer, Color, Thickness, Lineweight, Linetype
and Linetype Scale affect all selected entities.
To modify properties of objects
1. Choose Tools > Propertie
s from the main menu.
2. Select the objects.
3. In the Properties palette, change the desired properties.
NOTE The Properties palette settings that display when no objects are selected determine the properties
of new objects when you draw them.
7.5.3.
Copy Properties Between Objects
Using Match Properties, you can copy some or all properties of one object to other objects.
The types of properties that can be copied include, but are not limited to:
•
color
•
•
layer
linetype
•
•
linetype scale
lineweight
•
3D thickness
By default, all applicant properties are copied along with the objects. You can also specify the desired
properties to copy at the Property settings dialog box by typing MATCHPROP.
7.6. Modify 3D Solids
You can edit three-dimensional solids in several unique ways, including chamfer, fillet, section, and slice.
You can also modify individual faces and edges of s olids, as well as imprint, separate, shell, and check
solids. You can edit three-dimensi
onal ACIS solids, including boxes, cones, cylinders, dishes, domes,
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spheres, torus, and wedges.
7.6.1.
Fillet and Chamfer
You can chamfer or fillet a three dimensional solid much like you chamfer or fillet a two-dimensional
object.
Create fillers
You can create fillets for the specified edges of 3D objects. At first, you need to specify the fillet radius,
and then choose one method to create fillets.
If you choose Edge, the system creates fillets for the two selected edges. If you select three or more edges
which were around a vertex, the system creates a spheral vertex if the three fillets have the same radius.
After specifying an arc radius, the system creates a sequence of fillets for the tangential sequence of
edges, when you use Loop option and select an edge.
In 3D space, as the selected objects are coplanar and the extrusion direction is not parallel with the Z
axis, you can create a fillet. If the objects are on the same plane, there are two kinds of
extrusion direction
shown as follows:
•
If the objects are on the same plane with the same extrusion direction normal to that plane, the
fillet arc is on that plane and has the same extrusion direction.
•
For objects on the same plane with opposite or different extrusion directions, the fillet arc is
located on that object plane with an extrusion direction normal to the object plane and inclined
towards the positive Z direction of the current UCS. For example, we assume two arcs A and B
are on the same plane in 3D space but have opposite extrusion directions (0,0.65,0.86) and (0,–
0.65,–0.86) relative to the current UCS. The fillet arc adopts the extrusion direction
(0,0.65,0.86).
To fillet a solid
1. Choose Modify > Fillet from the main menu.
2. Select the edge of the solid to fillet.
3. Specify the fillet radius.
4. Select additional edges to fillet, and press Enter to fillet.
Create chamfer
Using CHAMFER creates chamfers for the adjacent planes. While creating fillets,
the system prompts
you to specify a distance for the first and second object. The first object is the base plane and the second
one is another plane.
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After specifying the chamfer distance, you have to select edges to fillet. You can select all edges of the
base plane by selecting an edge using Loop option. Get more details from the CHAMFER command.
To chamfer a solid
1. Choose Modify > Chamfer from the main menu.
2. Select the edge of the base surface to chamfer.
3. Do one of the following:
To select a different surface, type N (Next) and press Enter.
To use the current surface, press Enter.
4. Specify the distance on first entity.
5. Specify the distance between second entity.
6. Do one of the following:
7. Specify the edges to chamfer.
8. To select all edges around the base surface, type L (Loop) and press Enter.
7.6.2.
Section and Slice
You can section or slice a three dimensional solid.
Section
You can create a region using the intersection of solid obj
ects and a plane with the SECTION command.
After selecting objects, the system creates a region on the current layer and inserts them into the location
of the section.
Methods to define a section:
•
•
Specifies three points to define a sectioning plane.
Align the sectioning plane with a circle, ellipse, arc, 2D spline or 2D polyline object.
•
Specifies a point lied on the sectioning plane and a point lied on the normal of the defined
section.
•
•
Align the sectioning plane with the plane of the current view.
Specifies a point to determine the location of the sectioning plane on the XY, YZ or ZX plane,
and aligns the sectioning plane with the XY, YZ, or ZX plane of the current UCS.
To section an object
1. Choose Draw > Solids > Section from the main menu.
2. Select the objects to cross section.
3. Do one of the following:
Specify three points to define the cross-section plane. (The first point defines the origin,
while the second point defines the X-axis and the third poi
nt defines the Y axis.)
Type O and press Enter to select an object that defines the cross-sectional plane.
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Specify an axis by typing Z and pressing Enter.
Slice
You can use SLICE command to slice a solid with a plane and retain the specified part or the entire solid.
The sliced solids retain the layer and color's properties of the original ones. To slice a solid, you have to
define a cutting plane, then select which part to retain.
Methods to define a cutting plane:
•
•
Specifies three points to define a cutting plane.
Align the cutting plane with a circle, ellipse, arc, 2D spline or 2D polyline object.
•
•
Specifies a point lied on the cutting plane and a point lied on the normal of the defined section.
Align the cutting plane with the plane of the current view.
•
Specifies a point to determine the location of the cutting plane on the XY, YZ or ZX plane, and
aligns the cutting plane with the XY, YZ, or ZX plane of the current UCS.
To slice a sol
id
1. Choose Draw > Solids > Slice from the main menu.
2. Select the objects to slice.
3. Do one of the following:
4. Specify three points to define the cross-section plane. (The first point defines the
origin, while the second point defines the x-axis and the third point defines the yaxis.)
5. Type O and press Enter to select an object that defines the cross-sectional plane.
6. Specify an axis by typing Z and pressing Enter.
7. Specify which side to retain, or type B to retain both sides.
7.6.3.
Modify Faces of 3D Solids
You can modify faces of 3D solids by extruding, moving, rotating, offsetting, tapering, delete, copying
or changing the color of the selected faces.
Extrude Faces
You can extrude one or more faces of 3D solids at the specified height and path.
Negative value extrudes faces along to the positive normal; positive value extrudes faces along to the
negative normal. After specifying the height, the system prompts you to specify the angle of taper for
extrusion. If you
specify the angular value is greater than 0, the plane tapers in from the base object; if
the value is negative, the face tapers out. By default, the value is of 0, which extrudes the face
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perpendicular. The extrusion stops when the tapered face shrinks to a point.
If you select Path option, the selected face extrudes at the specified line or curve objects. The objects that
can be specified as an extrusion path contains line, circle, arc, ellipse, ellipse arc, polyline, and spline.
These objects should not be coplanar with the object, nor should have areas of high curvature. Generally,
one of the endpoints of the selected extrusion path should lie in the center of the face to extrude, if not,
the system will do it.
To extrude a solid face
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Extrude Faces from the main menu.
2. Select the face(s) to extrude, and press Enter.
3. Do one of the following:
4. Specify the height of extrusion.
5. Type P and press Enter to select a path
for extrusion.
6. If you specified a height, specify a taper angle.
Left: Select the entity to extrude, and then specify the face(s) to extrude (A), and the height of extrusion or path
Right: The resulting entity with the face extruded to position (B)
Move Faces
Moves face of a 3D solid at the specified distance. This command only changes the location of the face,
leaving the direction unchanged. Using object snap help you specify the location exactly.
To move a solid face
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Move Faces from the main menu.
2. Select the face(s) to move, and press Enter.
3. Specify a base point.
4. Specify an endpoint.
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Left: Specify the face(s) to move(A), the base point (B), and the endpoint (C)
Right: The resulting object with the face moved to the new position
Offset Faces
You can scale faces of 3D solids with the specified offset. Positive value enlarges objects; negative value
shrinks objects. For example, you can enlarge or shrinks an ap
erture using offset. In addition to entering
the distance, you can also drag the cursor to determine the distance.
To offset a solid face
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Offset Faces from the main menu.
2. Select the face(s) to offset, and press Enter.
3. Specify an offset distance.
Left: Specify the face(s) to offset (A) and the distance to offset
Right: The resulting object with the face offset to position (B)
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Delete Faces
You can use SOLIDEDIT to delete the selected faces or fillets of 3D solids.
To delete a solid face
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Delete Faces from the main menu.
2. Select the face(s) to delete, and press Enter.
Left: Specify the face(s) to delete (A)
Right: The resulting entity with the face deleted
Rotate Faces
You can use SOLIDEDIT to rotate the selected face of the specified 3D solid around a rotation axis. You
can specify two points on the drawing or select an existing line as the rotation axis. X, Y or Z axis , as
well as
the Z direction of the current view, could be used as the rotation axis too.
The system rotates faces at the specified angle on the current UCS, which the angle direction is stored in
the system variable ANGDIR.
To rotate a solid face
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Rotate Faces from the main menu.
2. Select the face(s) to rotate, and press Enter.
3. Specify a base point.
4. Specify another point on the rotation axis.
5. Specify the rotation angle.
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Left: Specify the face(s) to rotate (A), the base point (B), the second point on tapered the rotation axis (C), and a
rotation angle.
Right: The resulting object with the face to position (D)
Taper Faces
You can taper the selected face at the specified angle around a baseline. The rotation direction depends
on the sequence of specifying the base point.
Positive angle tapers faces in and negative angle tapers faces out. The angle should not be too large in
order to the tapered face shrinks to a point before reac
hing the specified height.
To taper a solid face
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Taper Faces from the main menu.
2. Select the face(s) to taper, and press Enter.
3. Specify a base point.
4. Specify another point along the axis.
5. Specify a taper angle.
Left: Specify the face(s) to taper (A), a base point(B), a second point along the taper axis(C), and a taper angle
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Right: The resulting entity with the face tapered to position(D)
Color Faces
You can assign a color to the faces of 3D solids. The specified color of faces overwrites the color of the
layer on which the faces are drawn.
To color a face
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Color Faces from the main menu.
2. Select the face(s) to color, and press Enter.
3. Specify a color.
Specify the face(s) to color (A)
The resulting entity with the face colored
Copy Faces
You can copy faces of 3D solids to the specified location. The selected faces are seen as an independent
region or solid object. After cre
ating copies, you can perform one of the following methods:
•
Basepoint: You must specify two points on the drawing. The first one is a base point; the other
one determines the location of the copy.
•
Vector: You need to specify a point to determine the location of the copy. The base point is the
original point (0,0,0).
To copy a solid face
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Copy Faces from the main menu.
2. Select the face(s) to copy, and press Enter.
3. Specify a base point.
4. Specify an endpoint.
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Left: Specify the face(s) to copy (A), the base point (B), and the endpoint(C)
Right: The resulting entity with the face copied
7.6.4.
Modify Edges of 3D Solids
You can copy edges of 3D solids to become an independent object or change its color.
Copy Edges
Copying edges of 3D solids are similar to copying faces of 3D solids. All edges are copied as the
independent lines, arcs, ellipses or spline objects. However, the properties keep the same as the curre
nt
layer. After you specify the location of placing the copy, you can perform one of the following methods:
•
Basepoint: You must specify two points on the drawing. The first one is a base point; the other
one determines the location of the copy.
•
Vector: You need to specify a point to determine the location of the copy. The base point is the
original point (0,0,0).
To copy an edge
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Copy Edges from the main menu.
2. Select the edge(s) to copy, and press Enter.
3. Specify a base point.
4. Specify an endpoint.
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Left: Specify the edge(s) to copy (A), the base point (B), and the endpoint(C)
Right: The resulting entity with the edge copied
Color Edges
You can assign a color to the edges of 3D solids. The specified color of edges overwrites the color of the
layer on which the edges are drawn.
To color an edge
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Color Edges from the main menu.
2. Select the edge(s) to color, and press Enter.
3. Specify a color.
7.6.5.
Imprint, Separate, Shell, Check and Clean 3D Solids
You can change the appearance of 3D objects, separate or create shells at the specified thickness for 3D
objects by imprinting, separating or shelling. You can remove redundant edges, points, imprinted and
unused objects through cleaning them. You can also check to see the selected objects are the available
3D solids.
Imprint
You can create a new face of a solid face by executing imprinting operation. The following objects can
be imprinted: arc, circle, line, 2D/3D polyline, ellipse, spline, region, 3D solid. To ensure the imprinting
successfully, the objects to be imprinted must be intersected with one or more faces. For example, when
a rectangular intersects with a 3D solid, you can imprint the intersecting curve. Then determine whether
the original objects are removed or not.
To imprint a solid objects
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1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Imprint from the main menu.
2. Select th
e solid object you want to imprint.
3. Select the object you want to imprint on the solid.
Separate
You can separate the selected composed 3D solid into the several 3D solids with the unconnected objects.
The composed 3D solid cannot share the common areas or cubage. The separated solids still lie on the
original layer and keep the color unchanged. All nested objects are separated into the simplest objects.
To separate solids
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Separate from the main menu.
2. Select the solid you want to separate.
Shell
You can create a shell at the specified thickness. One 3D solid only create a shell, and the system has to
move away from the existing face before creating a new face. The tangent faces are seen as a face while
moving.
To shell a solid
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Shell from the main menu.
2. Select the object you want to shell.
3. Remove any faces you don't want to include.
4. Specify an offset distance.
Select the entity, and then select fac
es to remove (A) and (B), then specify an offset distance
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Check
You can check whether a selected object is a valid three-dimensional ACIS solid. If it is a valid 3D solid,
you can modify the object using the 3D solid editing commands; if not, you cannot edit the object using
these commands.
To check a solid
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Check from the main menu.
2. Select the objects to check.
Clean
You can remove redundant edges or vertices from solids when they are not needed.
To clean a solid
1. Choose Modify > Solids Editing > Clean from the main menu.
2. Select the object you want to clean.
7.7. Use Windows Cut, Copy, and Paste
You can use the Clipboard to cut or copy objects from one drawing to another. Cutting removes the
selected objects from a drawing and stores them on the Clipboard. Copying duplicates the selected
objects from a drawing and places them on the Clipboard.
7.7.1.
Cut Objects
You can use Window commands such as Cut, Copy and P
aste to move or copy objects. With using the
Cut command, the objects on the clipboard can be pasted to a document or drawing as an OLE object.
See more from the PASTECLIP and PASTESPEC command. The links are not available after executing
the Cut command.
To cut objects to the Clipboard
1. Select the objects you want to cut.
2. Choose Edit > Cut from the main menu.
7.7.2.
Copy Objects
You can copy the objects on the clipboard into the document created by other application. The copied
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objects can keep the height resolution as they are copied to the vector format. These objects store on the
clipboard with the WMF (Windows Metafile Format) format. The copies keep unchanged at the other
application even if the original drawing has changed.
To copy objects to the Clipboard
1. Select the objects you want to copy.
2. Choose Edit > Copy from the main menu.
Anything that you can copy to the Clipboard can be pasted into a drawing. The format in which the
program adds t
he Clipboard contents to the drawing depends on the type of information in the Clipboard.
For example, if you copy ZWCAD drawing entities to the Clipboard, the program pastes them into the
drawing as ZWCAD entities. If you copy items to the Clipboard from other programs, they are pasted
into the current drawing as embedded ActiveX objects.
7.7.3.
Paste Objects
The system used all available formats to store information when you copy objects into the clipboard. The
format that stores the most information was used when pasting the objects on the clipboard into the
current drawing.
To paste objects from the Clipboard
1. Choose Edit > Paste from the main menu.
To change the format to paste, you can select the desired format from the Edit menu.
The WMF format contains the screen vector information, which can scale or plot the pasted objects
without decreasing resolution. It can be applied to the application that supports WMF format.
The color of objects keeps unchanged when pasting. Howev
er, you can use the system variable
WMFBKGND and WMFFORGND to control whether the background or foreground is transparent or
not, where the pasted objects lie on.
When the objects to be pasted contain links or nest other objects, you can use PASTESPEC command to
insert them from the clipboard into the ZWCAD drawing. When selecting ZWCAD Block, the objects
are processed as a block. And you have to explore them before editing. Converting WMF format into
ZWCAD Drawing format may lead to the scale factor changed. To avoid this situation, you can convert
the selected objects to a block and then insert it into the ZWCAD drawing using INSERT.
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7.8. Correct Mistakes
Various methods can be used to cancel errors until the latest correct operation if perform error
manipulations.
7.8.1.
Undo a Single Action
You can reverse to the last operation by pressing Undo button on the Standard toolbar or entering U on
the command line. Some commands contain the Undo option, so you
can enter u to reverse to the last
operation without exiting the command. For example, when creating a line or polyline, you can enter U
to undo the latest drawn line segment.
7.8.2.
Undo Several Actions at Once
UNDO command helps to abort multiple operations at a time.
When using UNDO command, system groups a number of operations assigned within BEgin and End
so that you can cancel all the steps as a group object at a time. Use Mark and Back to enable users to
cancel all the later operations since the marked step. If you use Back or Number of operations to undo
option, the drawing will be redrawn if necessary. This may happen to the end of UNDO command, and
the frequency of redrawing can be different based on the option you select, for example, enter UNDO 3
to redraw once, while entering U command three times to redraw three times.
7.8.3.
Reverse the Effect of Undo
You can use REDO to reverse the effects of previous UNDO or U command. This command is equivalent
to the REDO butt
on on the Standard toolbar.
Undo or Redo Actions Using Undo or Redo button
The Undo or Redo button on the Standard toolbar are displayed in gray if there aren't any operations to
undo or redo, at this moment this function is unavailable.
The Undo button is available as soon as you have operated a certain command, click left part of this
button to undo the last manipulation performed previously. There is a pull-down list beside the undo
button, click here to pop-up a list in which all of the possible operations are displayed, containing up to
6 commands within one list page, if more than 6 operations have been manipulated, you can drag the
scroll bar on the right side of the list page to browse the commands.
The Redo button is available once you have manipulated undo. Like performing Undo operation, click
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the Redo button to perform the last Undo operation, while clicking the pull-down arrow to pop-up a list
in which all of the manipulations available to perform
Redo are displayed.
Move the mouse to select manipulations from the pull-down list of Undo and Redo button, highlight the
items on which the mouse stays to illustrate how many items are selected among the manipulations from
the top of the list page, and display a message at the bottom of the list to explain the number of items
being selected. And then click the mouse or press ENTER directly to perform Undo or Redo command.
Move the mouse to the top or button of the pull-down list box to enable it scrolling by itself, additionally,
you can press the direction key to select commands upwards or downwards.
Once you select BEgin option when performing UNDO command, the manipulations displayed in the
pull-down list beside the Undo button will be unavailable, at this time you can only undo the subsequent
manipulations unless you perform the UNDO command again and select the End option.
Erase Objects
You can also use OOPS command to restore the deleted objects except for the objects deleted b
y PURGE
command. You can use OOPS to remove the selected block objects after performing BLOCK or
WBLOCK.
Cancel a Command
You can click ESC to exit during performing the command.
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8. Notes and Labels
8.1. Create Text
Create text, multiline text (mtext) and text that includes one or more leader lines.
8.1.1.
Single-Line Text
You can use TEXT command to create a single or multiline text. Each line text is an independent object
which can be modified.
Before typing text, you can specify the text style and the way to align at the prompt of creating text. The
text style is applied to both of a single and multiline text objects. The justification way determined which
part of text justify with an insert point.
Characters created by MTEXT can be applied to independent text styles, but the single line text cannot
do that.
Press ENTER if you have typed some characters, and then the command line prompts to input characters
for the next row of text. While creating single
line text, you are also enabled to extend or compress certain
single line text object in specified space to meet with your need by means of selecting Align or Fit option
from the TEXT command line prompt.
To create text
1. Choose Draw > Text > Single Line Text from the main menu.
2. Specify the start point for the text.
3. Specify the height of the text.
4. Specify the text rotation angle.
5. Type the text, and then press Enter at the end of each new line.
6. To complete the command, press Enter again.
TIP If you've already created text and want new text to appear immediately below the previous text,
Choose Draw > Text > Single Line Text. When prompted for start point, press Enter. The new text will
keep the same height and rotation angle as the previous text.
Align Single-Line Text
When you create text, you can set the text alignment before you specify the start p oint.
You set the alignment by choosing Justify in the command line prompt. By default, the text is left justified.
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You can also align text so that it fits or aligns with two points. The Align option creates text that scales
up or down while maintaining a constant height/width ratio; the Fit option expands or compresses the
text to fit between the two points.
Left: Text aligned between two points maintains a constant height/width ratio
Right: Text fit between two points expands or compresses to fit
To specify the line text alignment
1. Choose Draw > Text > Single Line Text from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type J (Justify) and press ENTER.
3. Type an alignment option. For example, enter BR to align text at its bottom-right
corner.
4. Type the text, and then press Enter at the end of each new line.
5. To complete the command, press Enter again.
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8.1.2.
Multiline Text
The multiline text consists of one or more lines of text or paragraphs that fit within a boundary width
that you specify. Each multiline text entity you create is treated as a si
ngle entity regardless of the number
of individual paragraphs or lines of text it contains.
When you create multiline text, you first determine the paragraph's boundary width by specifying the
opposite corners of a rectangle. The multiline text automatically wraps so that it fits within this rectangle.
The first corner of the rectangle determines the default attachment point of the multiline text. You can
change the location of the attachment point in reference to the rectangle, and you can determine the
direction in which text flows within the rectangle.
After defining the text frame, the system opens the In-Place Text Editor, which is comprised of a text
frame and the Text Formatting toolbar. You can type text in the text frame and change the style from the
Text Formatting toolbar.
The text style can control the style of characters, s uch as default fonts, line spacing, aligned way, and
color. STANDARD is the default text style.
You can change the value of text objects in the Propert
ies palette that includes the Justify, Direction and
so on.
You can also assign the underline, color or other fonts to the current text to overlap the default style.
Stacked characters (such as fractions and tolerance), special characters and Unicode characters used for
TrueType fonts can be created in the text frame. At the same time, you can also control the appearance
of the text object and create a list by specifying the tap and characters to retract.
To create multiline text
1. Choose Draw > Text > Multiline Text from the main menu.
2. Select the first corner of the text area.
3. Select the second corner of the text area.
4. In the Multiline Text window, type the text you want.
5. To create paragraphs, press Enter and continue typing.
6. On the toolbar, make format changes as follows:
To change the font of the selected text, select a font from the list.
To change the height of the selected text, enter a new value in the Height box.
To format text in a TrueType font with boldface o
r italics, or to create underlined text for
any font, click the corresponding button on the toolbar. SHX fonts do not support boldface
or italics.
To apply color to the selected text, choose a color from the Color list. Click Select Color to
display the Select Color dialog box.
To save your changes and exit the In-Place Text Editor, use one of the following methods:
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7. Click OK on the toolbar.
8. Press .
TIP You can paste text from the Clipboard into the In-Place Text Editor.
Justify Multiline Text
When you create multiline text, you can set the text alignment by specifying the attachment point location
in relation to the multiline text boundary and the direction in which text flows within the boundary. You
can set the multiline text alignment either at the command line prompt displayed after you specify the
first corner of the multiline text boundary or from the In-Place Text Editor. You can specify the
attachment point at the top left, top cent
er, top right, middle left, middle center, middle right, bottom left,
bottom center, or bottom right. The multiline text can flow left to right, right to left, top to bottom, or
bottom to top.
The system provides nine justifications, shown in the following illustrations:
Format Characters Within Multiline Text
During creating multiline text, you can assign a new value to the selected objects to overlap the default
setting. But the changes only affect the selected texts, leaving the current text style unchanged.
In addition to specifying underlines, bold, color and fonts for single or multiple characters, you can also
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specify a different text height. The text height displayed in th e In-Place Text Editor is the one you
specified, the height of the actual characters is displayed with the new height as well. The text height is
measured in drawing unit.
Indent Multiline Text and Use Tabs
On the In-Place Text Editor, you can control the appearance of text objects a
nd create a list by specifying
the tap stops and indenting text. The setting of tap stops and indent made before typing text are applied
to all the texts. You can also assign the settings to the selected paragraphs.
The arrowheads on the ruler are used to define the indent of text. The above one is designed to specify
the first line indent, while the other one is designed to specify the paragraph indent.
While you dragging the indent mark on the ruler, the L mark is displayed to represent the tab stops. You
can delete custom tabs by moving the L mark away from the ruler.
Specify the Line Spacing
The line spacing of multiline texts is the distance between the baseline of one line of text and the baseline
of the next line of text. You can right-click in the textbox and choose Paragraph to specify the desired
line space when the cursor stays on the text frame. The single line space is the 1.66 times the height of
the text characters.
You can specify either At Least, Multiple or Exactly o
ption to specify the line spacing. At Least increases
line spacing automatically when the characters are too large to fit the line spacing you had specified.
Multiple sets the line spacing according to the text height, instead of setting the value of the line spacing.
If the text height is not the same in a line, the line spacing is fixed by the biggest text height. Exactly
specifies the exact line spacing for each line.
Exactly style may result in the text in lines situated above or below lines with large font characters to
overlap the larger characters.
Create Stacked Characters
The stacked text is text or fraction applied to mark tolerance or measure units. Before creating stacked
text, you have to use special characters to indicate the stacked place for the selected text. The following
contents present the special characters and illustrate how to create stacked text:
•
•
Slash (/): Stacks text vertically and separate them with a horizontal line.
A pound sign (#): Stacks text
diagonally and separates them with a diagonal line.
•
Carat (^): Creates a tolerance stack, which is stacked vertically as well as not separated by a
line.
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You can also use Stack button on the Text Formatting toolbar to create stacked text.
Import Text from External Files
You can input text (TXT and other) contents into the drawing from an external file by selecting Import
Text option from the right-click menu of the In-Place Text Editor, and display the text in the drawing that
imported from an external file as a mtext object.
Importing text from external files provides users with infinite flexibility while manipulating, you can
operate from creating text file for standard annotations firstly, and then insert these text into the drawing
as mtext objects for subsequent editing and resetting its formats.
Text imported from external files (TXT and other) uses current text style. Additionally, the external files
imported into the In-Place Text Editor retain i
ts source document style for text height, and retain the
original setting for line break and enter symbol.
To Import Text file
1. Select Draw > Text > Multiline Text from the main menu.
2. Specify two corners of the multiline textbox separately to define the width of the
mtext object.
3. Right-click on the In-Place Text Editor, and then select Import Text from the shortcut
menu that pops up.
4. Select the desired text file from the Select File dialog box, and then click Open. The
text contents of the text file will be inserted into the position where the cursor stays
within the In-Place Text Editor.
5. Modify text contents to be inserted on your demand.
6. Click OK on the In-Place Text Editor to save the modification and exit the editor.
If you drag an external file into the drawing directly, it will be displayed as OLE object. Additionally, if
you use the clipboard to copy text from other applications and paste it into current drawing directly, the
text will be displayed as OLE object
s.
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8.1.3.
Leaders
A leader is a line or spline with an arrowhead at one end, and annotations (Mtext, blocks as well as
tolerance) at the other end.
Generally, you place an arrowhead at the first point. An annotation, created as dimension text, is placed
immediately adjacent to the last point.
Create a Leader Line
You can use LEADER or QLEADER to create a leader and control the appearance. The color of a leader
is controlled by the color of the current dimension line. The scale is controlled by the global dimension
scale specified on the current dimension style. The appearance of a leader is controlled by the setting of
the first arrowhead on the current dimension style.
Add Text to a Leader
There are two methods to add text to a leader:
•
•
Type text on the command line
Create the multiline text using the In-Place Text Editor
When creating text, you can assign the style to an individual character and attach the copies of the current
annotation to the
leader.
When the value of variable system DIMGAP is negative, the system creates a box next to the text, which
the distance between them is determined by the value of DIMGAP.
The text is placed automatically at the endpoint of a leader at the specified value, which is stored in the
"Offset from the dim line" on the Text tab of Modify Dimension Style dialog box. If the dimension is
tolerance, the future control frame is placed at the endpoint of a leader as well. A block is inserted at the
specified location with the specified scale value.
To create a leader and an annotation
1. Choose Dimension > Leader from the main menu.
2. Specify the starting point of the leader.
3. Specify the endpoint of the leader line segment.
4. Specify additional leader line segment endpoints.
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5. After you specify the last endpoint, press Enter.
6. Type the annotation, and press Enter to enter the next line of a nnotation text.
7. Press ENTER to complete the command.
Specify the start
ing point of the leader (A) and the endpoint of the leader line segment (B)
The following picture shows the text is above the leader. You can set the Text Placement from the Text
tab in the Modify Dimension Style dialog box.
8.1.4.
Multileader
Multileader is usually composed of four-part, arrowhead, leader, leader landing, and content. Each
multileader can contain more than one leader line, and each leader line can be composed of one or more
segments. Leader content can be set to Mtext or block. That is, a note created by multileader can point
to more than one part of the drawing.
You can create a multileader by Arrowhead First or Content First. The Multileader Style Manager is also
provided for style managing. You can create different styles of multi-leaders in the same view by setting
multileader style.
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Multileader Toolbar
Functions of the buttons on multileader toolbar are described in the table below:
Icon
Name
Function Description
Multileader
Creat
es a multileader object.
Add Leader
Adds leaders to the selected multileader object.
Remove Leader
Removes the leader from the multileader object.
Multileader Style
Open "Multileader Style Manager ”dialog box, in which
you create, modify or delete multileader style.
Create multileader
Enter MLEADER command, according to prompt to create multi-leaders on any location in the drawing.
Steps for creating multileader with MText.
1. Select [Dimension → Multileader].
2. Specify leader arrowhead's location.
3. Specify leader landing's location.
4. Enter multitext in the text box as leader content, and then click "OK" button to
complete the multileader creating.
Steps for creating multileader with Block.
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1. Select [Dimension → Multileader].
2. Enter O (option) and set the multileader content type to block, then exit.
3. Specify leader arrowhead's location.
4. Specify the location of the multileader to finish drawing.
Multileader style
The leader type of th
e multileader can set to spline or straight.
The content of the multileader can set to MText or Block.
More details of multileader style settings, you can modify on Leader Format in Modify Multileader Style
dialog
8.2. Change Text
All of the text objects can be moved, rotated, deleted and copied, just as like other objects. You can
change the properties at the Properties panel.
You can also modify the contents of existing text and create a mirror image. The system variable
MIRRTEXT controls whether the text is reversed or not when you mirror object.
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8.2.1.
Change single-line text
You have two methods to modify single-line text:
•
•
To modify only the content of the text, use DDEDIT command.
To change text style, location, size and content, use PROPERTIES command to open Properties
palette, from which, you can make the relevant settings.
To edit text
1. Type DDEDIT and then press Enter.
2. Select the single line text.
3. In the Edit Text box, edit the
text and then press Enter.
To change text properties
1. Select a single line text object.
2. Right-click the selected object and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
3. In the Properties palette, enter any new text in the Text Contents, and then change
formatting and other properties as needed.
You can also move, scale or rotate text through grips as like other objects. The grip of a single -line text
is displayed at the lower-left corner of the baseline and the alignment point. As shown in the following
picture:
Different grips generate different effect even though with the same command.
8.2.2.
Change Multiline Text
You can change the properties of multiline text in the Properties palette.
To edit multiline text
1. Type DDEDIT and then press Enter.
2. Select the multiline text.
3. Edit the text in the In-Place Text Editor.
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4. Click OK.
To change multiline text properties
1. Select a multiline text object.
2. Right-click the selected object and then
click Properties on the shortcut menu.
3. In the Properties palette, enter any new text and change formatting and other
properties as needed.
Double-clicking opens the In-Place Text Editor, from which, you can modify the contents and formats
of text.
Change Text Location
You can move or change the line width through grips as well.
Generally, the location of grips is displayed at the four grips of the text, in some cases, at the justification
point.
You can also replace the text by entering the coordinate on the Properties palette.
Find and Replace Text
Within the In-Place Text Editor, right-click and select Find and Replace to replace the selected characters.
The content of the text is replaced, but the properties of the text remain.
8.2.3.
Change Text with a Leader
You can change the size of a leader by stretching or scaling it. Stretch changes the distance between the
endpoint and the annotation. The scale only updates the scale of the selected objects. For example, when
scaling
a leader, the location of the annotation keeps unchanged. A leader can be used as the boundary
for trimming or extending, but not be trimmed or extended.
8.3. Work with Text Styles
The text style is applied to the text objects. You can use text style to control the text font, size, angle,
direction and other features. By default, the current text style is STANDARD, and you have to make
other text styles current when you want to apply them.
The STANDARD text style has the following default properties:
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Setting
Default
Description
Style name
STANDARD
Name with up to 255 characters
Font name
txt.shx
the file associated with a font (character style)
Big Font
None
Special shape definition file used for a non-ASCII character set, such as Kanji
Height
0
Character height
Width factor
1
Expansion or compression of the characters
Obliquing angle
0
The slant of the characters
Backward
No
Backward text
Upside down
No
Upside-down text
Vertical
No
Vertical or horizontal text
You can modify the current text style or create a new text style directly. You can also delete the created
text style but not the default STANDARD text style.
8.3.1.
Create new text styles
When you apply some settings that the STANDARD does not have to the text, you have to create a new
text style or change the current text style.
Before creating a text style, you have to specify a name which can be up to 255 characters. The name
can contain characters, underscore, hyphen, dollar sign and other special characters that are not used by
Microsoft Windows or ZWCAD.
You can also modify the current text style in the Text Style dialog box.
Some style settings have different effects on single-line and multiline text objects. For example, the
Upside Down and Backwards options are not available for multiline text objects.
You can also rename an existing text style except for the STANDARD.
Except for the STANDARD text style, all text styles can be removed using P
URGE command or deleted
from the Text Style dialog box.
Certain formatting applied to individual characters within multiline text may not be retained. The
formatting not to be retained includes bold, font, height and obliquing. The formatting that can be
retained includes color, stack and underscore.
To create a text style
1. Choose Format > Text Style from the main menu.
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2. Click New, type a new text style name and then click OK.
3. Under Text Measurements, specify the Text Height, Width Factor, and Oblique
Angle.
4. Under Text Font, select the name, style, language, and big font you want to use.
5. Under Text Generation, select the check boxes you want to indicate the direction
for printed text to appear.
6. Click Apply, and then click OK.
8.3.2.
Assign Text Fonts
Each character set consists of text characters, which shape is defined by fonts. In addition to the TrueType
font, you can use compiled SHX font in ZWCAD. One font can be used for multiple text st
yles as long
as you make other settings different. The following illustration shows the same font used by different
text styles that use different settings.
You can specify the desired font from the Text Font field to the current or a newly created text font in the
Text Style dialog box.
Use TrueType Fonts
TrueType fonts always appear filled in the drawing. By default, the system plots the filled -in fonts, which
is controlled by the system variable TEXTFILL.
Use Unicode and Big Fonts
ZWCAD supports the Unicode character-encoding standard. A Unicode font contains 65,535 characters
and shapes for many languages. You can enter characters that are not available from the keyboard through
escape sequence. The escape sequence is of \U+nnnn, where “nnnn” represents the Unicode hexadecimal
value for the character. All of SHX shape fonts are Unicode fonts.
ZWCAD also supports the big font in order to accommodate alphabet text files consisted of thousands
of ASCII characters.
When you use
–STYLE command to specify fonts, you can specify two fonts separated by a comma.
The first one is common font and the second is a big font. The specification is shown as follows: (specify
font and big font on the command line)
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Enter this ...
To specify this ...
[font name],[big font name]
Both normal fonts and Big Fonts
[font name],
Only a normal font (Big Font unchanged)
,[big font name]
Only a Big Font (normal font unchanged)
[font name]
Only a normal font (Big Font, if any, removed)
ENTER (null response)
No change
You should not enter a long file name consisted of commas. The comma is interpreted as a separator.
8.3.3.
Replace Font
If the font to be contained in the drawing can't be obtained from the current system, ZWCAD process it
by replacing these fonts with another specified one.
Specify fonts to replace
If the font to be contained in the drawing can't be found in the current system, ZWCAD replaces these
fonts with another specified fo
nt automatically. Otherwise, the system uses "simplex.shx" font to
override those unknown fonts instead. To modify the replace fonts by system default, you can modify
the system variable FONTALT which is applied for specifying new font file name. However, the
FONTALT value will be mapped to another font if the big font is used currently. Default font file for this
system variable is "txt.shx"and"bigfont.shx".
Edit Font Mapping File
Font mapping file is the list file for fonts and their corresponding replace fonts. If the specified fonts
can't be found in the current system, you can obtain from a font mapping file to replace them with
specified fonts.
Sometimes, to ensure partial specific fonts or enable fonts conversion in the current drawing, you can
create font mapping file with any text editor.
With these font mapping files, you can stipulate and manage fonts uniformly or use them directly when
off-line printing. If encountering font objects created by other fonts, you can s pecify
replace fonts to
apply in platform through font mapping. It's also available for users to set a font mapping file to convert
each font to the corresponding font, for example, when editing drawings, the SHX which is easy drawing
can be used for replacing other fonts in the drawing, and subsequently switched to more complex fonts
when printing.
Font mapping file is a type of common ASCII text file with an extension name as .fmp, containing text
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file name without extensions or path in each line, the font file name with extension .ttf behind the font
file is replaced font, the two file names are separated by a semicolon. The system uses zwcad.fmp (used
for ZWCAD only) as default font mapping file. Any ASCII text editor is available for changing the text
for replacing specified fonts from the font mapping file.
For example, you can input the following contents in font mapping file, to replace timesnr.pfb font file
with times.ttf font file: timesnr;times.ttf.
If you
can't find specified font file when opening a drawing, the system determines how to find the
replace font specific to the font type (single text, Mtext).
If the text is a single text, the system processes it with the following procedures:
•
Search for replace font file in ZWCAD .fmp file.
•
•
Iterate font style table, search for the font file in the same format.
Use default font ZWCAD.fnt.
•
Pop-up font file dialog box, in which user can specify replace font file, otherwise uses
ZWCAD.fnt as the default font.
If big fonts are being used, search for corresponding font files in font mapping table (zwcad.alt).
Search for the corresponding codepage in font mapping table (zwcad.ini), and then search for replacing
font file in font mapping table through this codepage.
If the corresponding text can't be found no matter which font is applied, use the mapping font file found
in zwcad.ini, if still unfound, use zwcad.fnt.
If a text object is mtext, the system handles it by subsecti
on through language set so as to judge whether
the font file corresponding to this font file is capable of displaying this text object. If the font file
corresponding to this text object doesn't exist in the current system, the text style corresponding to this
text will be used for displaying this text. Even if the text style corresponding to this text can't be found,
Chinese system will take Song typeface as default, while other language systems take current font style
as default. If the corresponding font file exists but not display, the system reads the specified font in
system configured file (zwcad.alt). If the replacing font is corrupted or useless in some cases, the fonts
will not be replaced.
8.3.4.
Set Text Height
Text height is the size of characters, which is measured in drawing unit. With the same height setting,
the displaying height of the TrueType font is usually lower than the one of SHX font. When the font is
not of TrueType font, the value represents the size of th
e uppercase letters.
When the text height is set to 0 in the text style, the system prompts you to type a height value while
creating single-line text each time. So you can set text height to 0 in the text style in order to specify a
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new height before creating text.
For TrueType fonts, the value of text height represents the height of a capital letter plus an ascent area.
The ascent is reserved for accent marks and other marks used in non-English languages. The relative
portion of text height assigned to capital letters and ascent characters is determined by the font designer
at the time the font is designed; consequently, it varies from font to font.
When you apply a text height to all text in the In-Place Text Editor, the whole multiline text object is
scaled, including its width.
8.3.5.
Set Text Obliquing Angle
The obliquing angle determines that the text slant forward or backward. The obliquing angle ranges from
the -85 to 85. Positive value slants forwar
d; negative value slants backward. As shown the following
picture:
8.3.6.
Set Horizontal or Vertical Text Orientation
The text directions include horizon and vertical. Only if the associated font supports dual orientation,
you can create the vertical text. Each sequent text line is drawn to the right of the preceding line.
Generally, the rotation angle for vertical text is 270 degrees. You cannot create vertical text when the
font is TrueType.
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To specify a line text style
1. Choose Draw > Text > Single Line Text from the main menu.
2. On the command line, type S (Style) and press ENTER.
3. Type the name of a previously defined text style, and then press Enter. To display a
list of available text styles, type a question mark (?), and then press Enter.
4. Specify the text insertion point.
5. Specify the text height.
6. Specify the rotation angle.
7. Type the text line, and then press Enter.
8. To complete the command, press Enter again.
To specify a multiline
text style
1. Choose Draw > Text > Multiline Text from the main menu.
2. Specify the first corner of the Multiline Textbox.
3. On the command line, type S (Style) and press ENTER.
4. Type the name of a previously defined text style, and then press Enter.
5. Specify the opposite corner of the Multiline Textbox.
6. Type the text.
7. Click OK.
8.4. Check Spelling
You can use the SPELL command to check the spelling of text in your drawings, use various spelling
dictionaries, and create custom spelling dictionary. It is comprised of the following items.
Checking the spelling of text
You can use the SPELL command to check the spelling of single-line text, multiline text, paragraph text,
attributes, attribute definitions, and dimension text.
Checking the spelling of text
1. Type SPELL on the command line and press Enter.
2. Select one or more text entities.
3. In the Check Spelling dialog box, misspelled words display one at a time.
Do one of the following for each found word:
•
Keep text
unchanged — Click Ignore to keep the found word unchanged in the drawing, or click
Ignore
•
All to keep all instances of the found word unchanged in the drawing.
•
Change text — Select or type a word in the Suggestions box, then click Change to change the
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found word in the drawing to the new text, or click Change All to change all instances of the
found word in the drawing.
•
Click Add if you want to add the currently found word to a list of custom spelling words.
The Check Spelling dialog will recognize the added word as spelled correctly the next time the word is
checked for spelling.
8.4.1.
Work With Spelling Dictionary
Most drawings contain text that is not recognized as spelled correctly, even though it is spelled correctly.
For example, if your company name Zaffer, Inc. appears in all of your drawings, the company name will
appear as misspelled every time you check the spelling of drawing text. You can easily add words to a
custom dicti
onary so that any word in the custom dictionary is recognized as spelled correctly.
The custom dictionary is independent of any spelling dictionary you have chosen to use. You can check
the spelling of text using one dictionary, check the spelling of the same or other text using a different
dictionary, and in both cases, your custom dictionary is used.
TIP You can also add custom words to the custom dictionary directly during spell checking of text. In
the Check Spelling dialog, click Add to add the currently found word to the custom dictionary.
To download and install a new dictionary
1. Execute SPELL on the command line, select one or more text entities, and then in
the Check Spelling dialog box, click Change Dictionaries.
2. Click Download.
3. From the web page that displays (or from a different web page), download the
desired dictionary.
4. Unzip the contents of the downloaded file to \MyDocuments\HunSpell, or the
location where you installed spelling dictionaries for ZWCAD.
5. Cli
ck Change Dictionaries again, which will load the newly installed dictionary.
6. In Main Dictionary, select the desired dictionary.
7. Click OK.
To use a dictionary already installed on your computer
1. Copy the existing dictionary (DIC file) to \MyDocuments\HunSpell, or to the
location where you install spelling dictionaries for ZWCAD. Or add the folder to the
existing dictionary to the list of folders where ZWCAD searches for dictionaries.
Choose Tools > Options from the main menu, and then click Files and add the folder
location to the corresponding paths.
2. Execute SPELL on the command line, select one or more text entities, and then in
the Check Spelling dialog box, click Change Dictionaries.
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3. In Main Dictionary, select the desired dictionary.
4. Click OK.
8.4.2.
Create custom spelling dictionary
The SPELL command compares text found in the drawing with correctly spelled words in an installed
dictionary (DIC file). There are many different dictionarie
s that can be used with ZWCAD, including
dictionaries in many different languages. You can download and install a new dictionary or use a
dictionary already installed on your computer.
To create and manage a custom dictionary
1. Type SPELL on the command line and press Enter.
2. Select one or more text entities.
3. In the Check Spelling dialog box, click Change Dictionaries.
4. To add a custom word, type a word in Custom Dictionary Words, and then click Add.
5. To delete a custom word, select a word in Custom Dictionary Words, and then click
Delete.
6. Click OK.
8.5. Smart Voice
Smart Voice provides designers a more convenient interactive way for drawings review. The traditional
ways include face to face interaction or adding text annotations in the drawings (such as adding cloud
lines, leads, texts, etc.). However, the former one requires both of the designers in the same place, which
is inconvenient for recording and subsequent accessing to the interactive content; while the latter
one is
less efficient, you need to enter a lot of text and may lead to misunderstanding. As to the Smart Voice
function, it can help create voice comments in drawings, which is more conducive to the communication
between designers.
Besides, a lot of other usages can be derived from the smart voice function, such as:
•
•
Auxiliary description for design intent
Auxiliary tool for design thinking recording
•
•
Auxiliary tool for review comments description
Effects enhancement tool for design demonstration
Create voice object
1. Choose Tools » Smart Voice » Smart Voice from the main menu.
2. Input S(Settings) in the command line to specify the way you insert the voice object.
3. Mouse over the generated record button, press and hold the left mouse button to
start recording.
4. Release the mouse to stop recording and the Record icon will change into the Play
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icon.
5. Command line: SMARTVOICE
6. You can use the following three ways to insert voice objects
:
7. Insert into Point: Specify a point of absolute location to insert the voice object;
8. Insert into Region: Bind the voice object to a region, the region will be highlighted
in a dashed frame when you mouse over it;
9. Bind to Entity Object: Bind the voice to an object, the object will be highlighted in
a dashed frame when you mouse over it.
8.5.1.
Voice playback
Mouse over the UI icon of the recorded voice object, click the left mouse button to play the voice.
8.5.2.
Delete voice object
Mouse over the UI icon of the inserted voice object, a Delete button will show in the upper right corner,
click it to delete the voice object.
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9. Dimensions and Tolerances
9.1. Overview of Dimensioning
You can create five basic types of dimensions: linear, angular, radial, diametral, and ordinate.
You can create dimensions for existing entities by selecting them, or you can create dimensions by
selecting points within a drawing. For example, you can create a linear di
mension either by selecting the
entity to be dimensioned or by specifying the first and second extension line origins.
Dimensions indicate the measurement values of objects (e.g. length or width), distance or angles among
objects, or the distance between the feature point and the specified origin. You can create dimensions
that can be horizontal, vertical, aligned, rotated, coordinate, baseline, or contin ued.
When you create a dimension, the program draws it on the current layer, using the current dimension
style. Each dimension has an associated dimension style, which controls the appearance of the dimension,
such as the types of arrowheads, text style, and colors of various components. You can modify existing
dimension styles by changing any of the dimension variable settings, and the new dimension style is
visible soon after you confirm the modification.
You can use the QDIM command to create or edit a series of non-associative dimensions.
9.1.1.
Parts of a Dimension
Dimensions
have several distinct elements: dimension text, dimension lines, arrowheads, and extension
lines.
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Dimensions can also contain other optional components. A leader is a line leading from a feature of the
drawing to an annotation. Leaders begin with an arrowhead, and you can use them to place a dimension
away from the dimension line or to add notes. When you create a radial dimension, you can add a center
mark, which is a small cross that marks the center of a circle or an arc, or you can add centerlines, which
are crossing lines that extend out from the center of a circle or an arc.
Leader
Center mark
Centerlines
•
Dimension text: a character string that usually indicates the measurement value, includes
prefixes, suffixes, tolerances, etc.
•
Dimension line indicates the direction and extent of a dimension. For linear dimensions, it
displays as a line, for angular dimensions, it displays as an arc segment.
•
Arrowhead: usually displayed at both end
of the dimension line. You can specify various sizes
and shapes for arrowheads or tick marks.
•
•
Extension line extends from the object to the dimension line, in order to define dimension ranges.
Center mark: a small crossing tag that marks the center of a circle or arc.
•
Centerline: a crossing dashed line that marks the center of a circle or arc.
9.2. Use Dimension Styles
You can control the appearance of dimensions by changing settings. For convenience and to help
maintain dimensioning standards, you can store these settings in dimension styles.
9.2.1.
Overview of Dimension Styles
Dimensions that you insert are created using the current dimension style. You can create, save, restore,
and delete named dimension styles.
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The DIMSTYLE command is available when you want to display information about the current
dimension style and all of the named dimension styles.
Dimension styles provide a way for you to change various settings that control the ap
pearance of
dimensions. You can then save those settings for reuse. If you don't define a dimension style before
creating dimensions, the program uses the Standard dimension style, which stores the default dimension
variable settings. You can get Modify Dimension Style dialog started by clicking Modify button on
Dimension Style Manager dialog, for further modification of each dimstyle settings.
You can change the following settings in the Dimension Style Manager.
•
Extension lines, dimension lines, arrowheads, center marks or lines, and the offsets between
them
•
The positioning of the parts of the dimension in relation to one another and the orientation of
the dimension text
•
•
The content and appearance of the dimension text
The units of the dimension value
With the Compare button of the Dimension Style Manager, you can list the difference between any two
named dimension styles.
If there is a dimension contained in the xref being inserted, then dimension style applied
in this dimension
is also existing in the current drawing. You can compare externally referenced dimension styles with
other styles, but not allowed to modify them or make them current. An externally referenced dimension
style can be used as a template to create a new dimension style in the current drawing.
To create a dimension style
1. Choose Dimension > Style from the main menu.
2. In the Dimension Style Manager dialog box, click New.
3. Type the name of the new dimension style, and choose which style started with
and what kind of dimension used for.
4. Click Continue.
5. In the New Dimension Style dialog box, click one of the other tabs, and then change
the dimension settings as necessary. Repeat this step for each tab, as needed.
6. To end the command, click OK.
To select a dimension style
1. Choose Dimension > Style from the main menu.
2. Select a dimension style from the Styles list.
To rename a dimension style
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1. Choose Dimension > Style from the main m
enu.
2. In the Styles list of Dimension Style Manager dialog box, do one of the following:
3. Double click the required style.
4. Right-click on the required style name, and then choose Rename.
5. Type the new name.
6. Click Close to exit.
To delete a named dimension style
1. Choose Dimension > Style from the main menu.
2. In the Styles list of Dimension Style Manager dialog box, right click on the required
style name, and then choose Delete.
3. Click Close to close.
To display information about the current style
1. Choose Dimension > Style from the main menu.
2. In the Dimension Style Manager dialog box, click Compare.
3. In the Compare Dimension Style dialog box, choose the same dimension style from
the Compare and With pulldown list. All properties for specified dimension style
will be displayed.
4. If you want to know the different information between two styles, choose one style
in the Compare box, choose the other in the With box, and then you will see the
difference in the follo
wing tab.
5. Click Close to close.
9.2.2.
Control Dimension Elements
You can modify the appearance of dimension lines, extension lines, arrowheads, and center marks.
Modify Dimension Lines
On the Lines and Arrows tab of the Modify Dimension Style dialog box, you can set the color of
dimension lies, lineweight, ticks beyond extending the line, baseline spacing, and visibility.
Only when the arrowheads are assigned as oblique stroke arrowheads, architectural tick, Integral, dot
small or none arrowheads, you can set the displacement explains how far the dimension line extends
beyond the extend lines, otherwise, this setting is not available.
You can also set the baseline spacing to control the spacing between successive dimension lines.
If text splits a dimension line, you can specify whether each part of the dimension line is visible or not.
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Modify Extension Lines
Extension lines have the following properties: color, lineweight, distance beyond extension lines
, offset
from start of extension lines, and visibility. You can set these properties on the Lines and Arrows tab of
the Modify Dimension Style dialog box.
If extension lines are unnecessary or there is not enough space to display extension lines, you can
suppress one or both of them.
The distance beyond extension lines means that how far the extension lines extend beyond the dimension
line.
Start offset is the distance between the extension line origin and the start of the extension line, also called
extension origin offset. Shown as follows:
The first extension line lies on the side where you specified the first extension line origin. If you create
a dimension for a line, you do not specify the extension line origin. Because the endpoint of the line
closet to the specified point becomes the origin of the first extension line. Generally, the extension lines
are perpendicular to the dimension line. However, if there is not space, you can make them oblique,
shown in the figure above.
Yo
u can control settings affecting dimension lines, extension lines, and center marks. Any changes you
make affect the current dimension style. The image tile on the right side of the Modify Dimension
Settings dialog box shows the appearance of the dimensions based on the current dimension style settings.
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•
•
A Extend beyond dim lines.
B Baseline spacing.
•
C Offset from the origin.
To set the color for dimension lines
1. Choose Dimension > Style from the main menu.
2. In the Dimension Style Manager dialog box, select the style you wish to change and
choose Modify.
3. In the Modify Dimension Style dialog box, click the Lines and Arrows tab.
4. Make your selections under the Dimension Lines.
5. Click OK.
6. Choose Close to exit.
Choose Dimension Arrowheads
You can control the appearance and size of arrowheads or hook marks placed at the ends of dimension
lines. Any changes you make affect the current dimension style. The appearance of the selected
arrow
head is displayed in the preview frame placed at the upper right corner of the Modify Dimension
Style or New Dimension Style dialog box.
You can specify different arrowheads for both ends of a dimension line and for leader lines. The First
arrow is toward the first extension line; The Second arrow is toward the second extension line. Blocks
defined in the drawing also display in the three Arrowhead lists as user-defined arrows. You can usethese
blocks to create and assign your own arrowheads. The Arrow Size value determines the size of the
arrowhead, measured in drawing units. You can also use tick marks instead of arrowheads.
To choose an arrowhead
1. Choose Dimension > Style from the main menu.
2. In the Dimension Style Manager dialog box, select the style you want to change and
click Modify button.
3. In the Modify Dimension Style dialog box, click the Lines and Arrows tab.
4. Make your selections under the Arrowheads.
5. Click OK.
6. Choose Close to exit.
NOTE You can also specify
leader arrow types using the DIMLDRBLK system variable.
Customize Arrowheads
The default arrowheads are stored as block definitions. If you select User Defined as your arrowhead
type, you'll be prompted to assign a name to an existing block definition.
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The overall dimension scale factor determines the arrowhead size. If you assign the User Define
Arrowhead to the arrowhead in the Dimension Style Manager dialog box, the block is inserted where the
arrowheads would normally go when you create a dimension. The X and Y scale factors of the object are
set to "arrowhead size overall scale. You can trim the dimension line with text gap x overall scale units
at each end. If you want to trim the dimension line, insert the rightmost block with a zero rotation angle
for horizontal dimensioning. And rotate the leftmost block at 180 degrees about its insertion point.
If you use a paper-spacing scale, the scale factor is calculated before you applied it to the arrowhead size
value.
Center marks
While you are creating dimensions for circle or arc entities, you can setup type and size for the center
mark. Three types of marks are provided here: None, Mark, and Line.
9.2.3.
Control Dimension Text
You can control the settings affecting the appearance of dimension text. Any changes you make affect
the current dimension style. The preview frame on the upper right corner of the Modify Dimension Style
dialog box shows the appearance of the dimensions based on the current dimension style settings.
Fit Dimension Text Within Extension Lines
When there is not enough space between extension lines to accept both of dimension text and arrowheads,
you have to adjust one or both of their placement. By default, the system fits them best depending on the
available space. You can also specify other methods to place them on the Fit tab of the Modify Dimension
Style dialog box. If there is no room for placing text and arrowheads, however, you want to keep them
together, an
d then they are both placed outside. If there is room for only text or arrowheads, you can
specify either text only or arrowheads only to be placed between the extension lines.
You can also choose the "Place text manually when dimensioning" option to place dimension text
manually.
The following illustrations show how system applies a "best fit" for arrowheads and text.
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If there is no space for text between the extension lines, the system creates a leader automatically to place
text. You can set the relationship between them on the Text tab of the Modify Dimension Style dialog
box.
If you choose the "Always draw the dim line between ext lines" option on the Fit tab of the Modify
Dimension Style dialog box, the system creates a line between the extension lines as dimension line even
if neither the arrowheads nor the text is outside of the extension lines. Shown as follows
To format dimensions
1. Choose Dimension > Style.
2. In the Dimension Style Manager dialog
box, select the style you wish to change and
choose Modify.
3. In the Modify Dimension Style dialog box, click the Fit tab.
4. In Fit Options and Text Placement, select an option.
5. Click OK.
6. Choose Close to exit.
NOTE You can also specify how dimension text and arrows are arranged using the DIMATFIT system
variable. You can specify how dimension text is moved using the DIMTMOVE system variable.
Fit Diameter Dimension Text
You can create various diameter dimensions based on text placement, fit options and the selection of
"Always draw dim lines between ext lines" option on the Fit tab. Shown as follows:
Control the Location of Dimension Text
ZWCAD provides three justification settings: Horizontal, Aligned with dimension line, and ISO Standard.
You can also specify other location for the text. Most of the settings are interdependent.
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Align Dimension Text
Whether the text is inside or outside the extension line, it has no effect on the justification of dimen
sion
text. You can choose whether the text is aligned with the dimension lines or remains horizontal. The
following figures show the combination of these two options. The default justification is horizontal.
To align dimension text with the dimension line
1. Choose Dimension > Style.
2. In the Dimension Style Manager dialog box, select the style you wish to change and
choose Modify.
3. In the Modify Dimension Style dialog box, click the Text tab.
4. Make your selections.
5. Click OK.
6. Choose Close to exit.
Control the Location of Dimension Text
You can place dimension text vertically or horizontally, and give the offset the text from the first
extension line.
Position Dimension Text Vertically
The vertical text placement is the position of the text relative to the dimension. You can place text above,
below, or centered within the dimension line, or use the JIS dimensions.
Above places dimension text above the dimension line; Outside places dimension text on the side far
from the p
oint you specify for the dimension line; Centered places dimension text medially within the
dimension line; JIS places dimension text according to the Japan industry standard.
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In the ANSI standards, centered dimension text splits the dimension line. In the ISO standards, centered
text places above or outside the dimension line. In the following illustrations, ISO standards allow
angular dimension text to display in any of the ways shown.
The justification and other settings may affect the vertical alignment of text. If you select Horizontal
Alignment, text inside the extension lines and centered within the dimension is placed horizontally, as
shown in the leftmost figure above.
Position Dimension Text Horizontally
The position of text along the horizon in relation to the extension lines. The settings include Centered,
At Ext Line 1, At Ext Line 2, Over Ext Line1, and Over Ext Line2. The following illustrations show the
examples of Center and Over Ext Line 1app
lying to dimension text.
As you create dimensions, the order you specified the extension line origins determines which extension
line is first. For angular dimensions, the order is defined around the counterclockwise. In the following
figures, the first extension line origin is 1 and the second one is 2.
If the "Place text manually when dimensioning" option on the Fit tab of the Modify Dimension Style
dialog box is chosen, as you create dimensions, you can place the dimension anywhere inside or outside
the extension lines along the dimension line. This option is useful when the space between the extension
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lines is limited.
Control the Appearance of Dimension Text
Dimension text could be comprised of user-supplied text, prefixes, and suffixes provided by the
dimension style, and generated measurements. For example, you can add a radium symbol as a prefix to
a measurement, or add an abbreviation for a unit beyond the text, such as cm.
You can also set the text
style and formats of color, height for the dimension text.
Control the Text Style in Dimensions
You can set the text style for dimension text on the Text tab of the Modify Dimension Style dialog box.
You can also specify a dimension text color and a height irrelevant to the height value set by current text
style. Choose the "draw frame around the text" creates a frame when you create dimension text.
The text styles applied to dimensions are the same as the one applied to all text created in your drawing.
Supply User Text to Dimensions
Besides of the prefixes and suffixes specified for primary and alternate units, you can provide your own
text. Because the prefix, suffix, and user-supplied text can be treated as a single text string, they can be
used to represent tolerance stacks and the changes can be applied to a font, text size, and other
characteristics using the text editor.
The separator symbol \X is used to separate user text above and below the dimension line.
Text prior to th
is symbol is aligned with and below the dimension line. Text following this symbol is
aligned with and below the dimension line.
For example, if you select Text while creating dimensions, and then input user text "<> ZWCAD \X
WELCOME", thus the user text is separated above and below the dimension line. In which, <> stands
for main units, \X separates the text by a dimension line.
9.2.4.
Control Dimension Values
Set the display format of dimension values.
Dimension Units
You can determine the appearance and format of the primary and alternate dimension units. The preview
frame on the upper right corner of the Modify Dimension Style dialog box shows the appearance of the
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dimensions based on the current dimension style settings.
On the Primary Units of the Modify Dimension Style dialog box, you can set the primary units for linear
and angular dimensions, including unit format, numeric precision and so on. These settings control the
display of dimension values.
For linear dimension, you can also specify the prefix or suffix. The specified
prefix replaces the prefixes used for diameter and radius dimensions (Ø and R, respectively).
To round off dimensions
1. Choose Dimension > Style from the main menu.
2. In the Dimension Style Manager dialog box, select the style you wish to change and
choose Modify.
3. In the Modify Dimension Style dialog box, click the Primary Units tab.
4. In the Linear Dimensions and Angular Dimensions fields, type or select the nearest
value to which you want to round off dimensions.
5. Click OK.
6. Choose Close to exit.
NOTE You can also specify units for linear dimensions using the DIMLUNIT system variable. You can
specify fraction formats using the DIMFRAC system variable.
Alternate Units
You can create a dimension in two systems of measurement simultaneously in a drawing. This feature is
helpful when you want to add feet and inches dimensions in a drawing created using metric un its. The
alternative units appear i
n square brackets ([]) in the dimension text. Alternative units can be applied to
linear dimensions only.
If you turn alternative-units dimensioning on when editing a linear dimension, the measurement is
multiplied by a specified alternate scale value. This value indicates the number of alternate units per
current unit of measurement. The default fault value for imperial units is 25.4, which represents that each
inch is equivalent to 25.4 millimeters. The default value for metric units is 0.0394, which represents that
each millimeter is equivalent to 0.0394 inches. The precision for alternate units determines the number
of decimal places.
For example, for imperial units, if you specify the default value of 25.4 to the alternate scale setting and
0.00 to the alternate precision, the dimension is shown in the following figure.
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To create an alternate dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Style.
2. In the Dimension Style Manager dialog box, select the style you wish to ch
ange and
choose Modify.
3. In the Modify Dimension Style dialog box, click the Alternate Units tab.
4. Click the Display Alternate Units check box.
5. Make your selections.
6. Click OK.
7. Choose Close to exit.
Round Off Dimension Values
Except for angle dimensions, all other dimension values can be rounded off. For example, if you specify
a round-off value of 0.75, all distance is rounded to the nearest 0.75 unit. The number of decimal places
is determined by the precision set for primary and alternate units and lateral tolerance values.
Suppress Zeros in Dimensions
Control how to deal with leading and trailing zero in the numeric portion of dimension text. If you
suppress leading zero in decimal dimensions, 0.700 becomes .700; if you suppress trailing zero, 0.7000
becomes 0.7. If you suppress both leading and trailing zeros, 0.7000 becomes .7 and 0.0000 become 0.
The following paragraph shows the effect of selecting zero feet and zero inches using architectural units
style. If feet
are included with a fractional inch, the number of inches is always indicated as zero and
ignores any option you select. So, the dimension 4'-3/4" becomes 4'-0 3/4".
Option
Effect
Examples
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No options selected
Includes zero feet and zero inches
0'-0 1/2" 0'-6" 1'-0"
1'-0 3/4"
0 Inches selected
Suppresses zero inches (includes zero
feet)
0'-0 1/2" 0'-6" 1' 1'0 3/4"
0 Feet selected
Suppresses zero feet (includes zero
inches)
1/2" 6" 1'-0" 1'-0
3/4"
0 Feet and 0 Inches
selected
Suppresses zero feet and zero inches
1/2" 6" 1' 1'-0 3/4"
Display Lateral Tolerances
Lateral tolerance represents a value that the amount a measured distance can vary. You can control the
degree of accuracy needed for a future by specifying tolerances in manufacturing. A feature is some
aspect of a part, such as a line, axis, point, or surface.
You can append tolerances to the dimension text directly. These dimension tolerances indicate the largest
and smallest permissible siz
e. You can also apply geometric tolerances to indicate deviations of form,
profile, location, orientation, and runout.
You can specify exact measurements for lateral tolerances theoretically. They are called basic dimensions
and have a box drawn around them.
Deviation tolerances represent the plus and minus values that are appended to the dimension values. If
the deviation tolerances are equal, the ± signs precede them and they are known as symmetrical.
Otherwise, the plus value locates above the minus value. Shown in the following figures.
If you apply the tolerance as a limit, ZWCAD calculates a maximum and minimum value using the
positive and negative values provided. These values replace the original dimension values. The upper
tolerance locates above the lower if you specify deviation tolerances.
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The vertical placement of tolerance values that is relative to the main dimension text can be specified.
For example, you can align the tolerances with the top,
middle, or bottom of the dimension text.
You can also control how to suppress zero for tolerance values, as you can with the primary and alternate
units. The effect of suppressing zero in lateral tolerance is the same as suppressing zero in the primary
and alternate units.
9.2.5.
Set the Scale for Dimensions
Set the scale for dimensions. Setting dimension scale depends on the method you use to lay out and plot
drawings.
Dimension scale has effects on the size of dimension geometry relative to the objects in the drawing. In
addition to text height and arrowhead size, dimension scale affects offsets in dimension as well, such as
the extension line origin offset. When you create dimensions, it's recommended to set the size and offset
to values that represent their actual plotted size. However, the tolerances, measured lengths, coordinates,
and angles cannot be applied to the overall scale factor.
The method you lay out your drawing determines how to set the dimension scale. The metho
d of creating
dimensions in a drawing layout is shown as follows:
Dimension in model space for plotting in model space. If you want to create dimensions that are scaled
correctly for plotting, you have to set the system variable DIMSCALE to the inverse of the desired plot
scale. For example, if the plot scale is 1/4, you have to set DIMSCALE to 4.
Dimension in model space for plotting in paper space. If you want to create dimensions that are scaled
automatically for display in a paper space layout, you have to set the DIMSCALE to 0. This method is
useful when you encounter the following situations: the dimensions in a drawing need to be referenced
by other drawings (xrefs); when you create isometric dimensions in 3D isometric views. To prevent the
dimensions in one layout viewport from being displayed in other layout viewports, it's recommended to
create a dimensioning layer for each layout viewport that is frozen in all other layout viewports.
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Dimension in layo
uts. You can create dimensions in paper space by selecting model space objects or by
specifying object snap locations on model space objects. The dimensions created in a paper space layout
do not need additional scaling: there is no need to change the default value of DIMLFAC and
DIMSCALE.
9.2.6.
Annotative Dimension
Annotative Dimension can now be displayed, created and edited. Usually, the size of dimension changes
together with the size of the geometry it annotates, resulting in its failing display in the Layout viewports
when plotting to a smaller scale. Now by defining the annotative property to control the way that the
annotative dimension scales, the size of the annotation dimension can be adjusted automatically
according to the specified scale in the Layout viewports and displayed at the correct size , which is
especially helpful for plotting drawings with multiple scales in multiple viewports.
Size of the dimension will adjust automatically base on different viewport scale
9.3. Create Dimensions
You can create dimensions by:
•
•
Selecting the entity to dimension and specifying the dimension line location.
Specifying the extension line origins and the dimension line location.
When you create dimensions by selecting an entity, the program automatically places the extension line
origins at the appropriate definition points based on the type of entity you select. For example, the
definition points are located at the endpoints of arcs, lines, and polyline segments. When you create
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dimensions by specifying the extension line origins, the points you specify determine the definition
points. To establish these points precisely, use entity snaps.
9.3.1.
Create Linear Dimensions
Linear dimensions annotate linear distances or lengths and can be oriented horizontally, vertically, or
aligned parallel to an existing entity or to the selected extension origin points. After you create a linear
dimension, you can add a baseline dimension
or a continued dimension. A linear baseline dimension
inserts an additional dimension from a common first extension line origin of a previous linear dimension.
A linear continued dimension continues a linear dimension from the second extension line of a previous
linear dimension.
TIP To select precise ordinate points, use entity snaps.
Create Horizontal and Vertical Dimensions
As you create linear dimensions, the system automatically applies a horizontal or vertical dimension
depending on the specified extension line origins or the location where you select an object. However,
you can create a dimension by specifying it be horizontal or vertical.
In the following illustration, by default, a horizontal dimension is created unless you specify a vertical
one.
To create a horizontal or vertical dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Linear from the main menu.
2. Press Enter and then select the object dimension.
3. Or, you can insert the dimension by specifying the first and second extension l
ine
origins.
4. Specify the dimension line location.
Create Aligned Dimensions
In the aligned dimensions, the dimension line is parallel to the line passing through the extension line
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origins. The aligned dimension is also parallel to the objects you specify. The following figure shows
two examples of aligned dimension. Select the object (1), and then specify the location of the aligned
dimension. The system creates the extension lines automatically.
To create an aligned dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Aligned from the main menu.
2. Press Enter and then select the object dimension.
3. Or, you can insert the dimension by specifying the first and second extension line
origins.
4. Specify the dimension line location.
To insert an aligned dimension by selecting the entity, select the entity (A) to dimension, and then select the
dimension line location
To insert an aligned dimension by selecting the extension line origins, select the first extension origin (A), s
elect the
second extension origin (B), and then specify the dimension line location (C).
Create Baseline and Continued Dimensions
Both baseline and continued dimensions are multiple linear dimensions. Baseline dimensions are
measured from the same baseline and continued dimensions are placed end to end.
Before creating either baseline or continued dimension, you have to create a linear, aligned, or angular
dimension. If no dimension in the current session, the system prompts for selecting linear, aligned, or
angular dimension. If there are dimensions in the current session, you can create a baseline or continued
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dimensions incrementally from the most recently created dimension. Unless you specify another point
as the origin, both baseline and continued dimensions are always measured from the previous extension
line.
The following illustration shows the baseline and continued dimensions.
To create a linear baseline dimension
NOTE Before you can use this procedu
re, you must first create a dimension.
1. Choose Dimension > Baseline from the main menu.
2. Specify a second extension line origin or press Enter to select a dimension as a
baseline.
3. Select the next extension line origin.
4. Continue selecting extension line origins as required.
5. To end the command, press Enter twice.
The program automatically places the new baseline dimension above or below the previous dimension
line. The distance between two dimension lines is determined by the Baseline Spacing value on the Lines
and Arrows tab of the New Dimension Style or Modify Dimension Style dialog box.
To add a baseline dimension to an existing linear dimension, select the existing dimension (A), select the next
extension line origin (B), and select as many additional points as you want (C).
To create a linear continued dimension
NOTE Before you can use this procedure, you must first create a dimension.
1. Choose Dimension > Continue from the main menu.
2. To select a starting dimensio
n, press Enter.
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3. Select the next extension line origin, and then press Enter.
4. Or press Enter and then select an existing dimension to continue.
5. To add continued dimensions, continue selecting extension line origins.
6. To end the command, press Enter twice.
To add a continued dimension to an existing linear dimension, select the existing dimension (A), select the next
extension line origin (B), and select another extension line origin (C).
Create Rotated Dimensions
You can create rotated dimensions at a rotated angle you specify using DIMLINEAR Rotated option. An
example of a rotated dimension is shown in the following illustration. In this illustration, the specified
angle of the rotated dimension is equal to the angle of the slot.
Create Dimensions with Oblique Extension Lines
By default, the extension lines are perpendicular to the dimension line. However, if the extension lines
conflict with other objects in a drawing, you can use Dimension-Obliqu
e menu option to change their
angles measured from the X axis of the current UCS to the extension line. This option is only applied to
the existing dimensions, ignoring the dimensions to be created.
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9.3.2.
Create Angular Dimensions
Angular dimensions are used to measure the angle between lines or three points. You can dimension
objects including circles, arcs, and lines. You can also create an angular dimension directly with three
specified points. By selecting the circle and specifying the angle endpoints, you can create the angular
dimension to measure the angle between two radii of a circle. For other objects, you choose the objects
and specify the dimension location. You can also create an angular dimension by specifying the angle
vertex and endpoints.
When you create the angular dimension, you can modify the text content and alignment before placing
the dimension line.
With the existing angular dimensions, you can also create a baseline and continued ang
ular dimensions.
Baseline and continued dimensions should not be over 180 degrees. To acquire baseline and c ontinued
dimensions that are larger than 180 degrees, you have to stretch the position of the extension line of an
existing baseline or continued dimension using grid editing.
Dimension Lines
Angular dimension lines are typically represented with arc segments. To create an angular dimension for
two nonparallel lines, the dimension line arc spans the angle between the two lines. As you specify the
dimension line arc location, if the dimension line arc does not intersect one or two extension lines being
dimensioned, the system automatically draws them. The dimension line arc is always less than 180
degrees. However, for the circles and arcs, the dimension line arc can be up to 360 degrees.
To dimension an angle between two lines
1. Choose Dimension > Angular from the main menu.
2. Select one line.
3. Select the other line.
4. Specify the dimension line location.
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Select one line (A), select the other line (B), and then specify the dimension line location (C).
Dimension Circles and Arcs
If the object to be dimensioned is circle or arc, the dimension line arc is placed between the extensions.
The dimension line arc is also drawn between the extension lines when you use three points to create an
angular dimension. The quadrant of the dimensioned angle depends on the location that you specify for
the dimension line arc.
To dimension, an angle encompassed by an arc
1. Choose Dimension > Angular from the main menu.
2. Select the arc.
3. Specify the dimension arc location.
To dimension, the angle subtended by an arc, Select the arc (A) and then specify the dimension arc location (B).
9.3.3.
Create Radial Dimensions
You can create radial dimensions for circles or arcs to measure their radial. The radial dimension is a
radial dimension line with an arrowhead that points to a circle or arc. To display centerlines or a center
mark, set the s
ystem variable DIMCEN to nonzero.
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If the Text Placement on the Fit tab of the New Dimension Style or Modify Dimension Style dialog box
is set to "Over the dimension line, with a leader", then the dimension is applied along with a leader line.
Both center marks and lines apply only to radius and diameter dimensions. They are created only when
you place the dimension outside the circle or arc. The size of the centerline is the distance of the centerline
segment that extends outside the circle or arc, shown in the following illustration:
To create a radial dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Radius from the main menu.
2. Select the arc or circle.
3. Specify the dimension line l ocation.
Select the circle (A), and then specify the dimension line location (B).
Jogged Dimension
Jogged dimension is namely jogged radius dimension, which is also called "scaled radius dimension".
The user can specify the center position to place the origin of dimension for replacing center
point of
circle or arc within radius dimension. The DIMJOGGED command is useful for creating dimensions in
case that the center of circle or arc to be dimensioned is located outside the layout and can't be displayed
in its actual position either.
You can set the angle of jogged radius from "Other Items" tab either in "New Dimension Style" dialog
box or "Modify Dimension Style" dialog box.
For a jogged radius dimension having been created, you can modify its jog and center position by means
of grip editing, Properties palette and executing the STRETCH command.
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To create a jogged radius dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Jogged from the main menu.
2. Select a circle or an arc.
3. Select center position as the dimension origin.
4. Specify a point to position the jog symbol.
9.3.4.
Create Diameter Dimensions
You can create diameter dimensions for circles or arcs to measure their diameters. Creating diameter
dimensions resembles creating radial dimensions.
You can
create various diameter dimensions based on the location and size of circles or arc, and the
settings of the dimension style. Either drawing a center mark or line is controlled by the dimension style.
If the dimension line is created inside a circle or arc, the center mark or line is not drawn. The system
variable DIMCEN controls whether the center mark or line is displayed.
To create a diametral dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Diameter from the main menu.
2. Select the arc or circle.
3. Specify the dimension line location.
Select the circle (A), and then specify the dimension line location (B).
9.3.5.
Create Ordinate Dimensions
Ordinate dimensions are used to measure the perpendicular distance from an origin point called the datum
to a feature, such as a hole in a part. Ordinate dimensions are comprised of a leader line with an X or Y
value. These dimensions are called datum dimensions. X or Y value is calculated in the current UCS, and
leaders are drawn along the orthographic dir
ection at the current UCS. The dimension values are the
absolute values. By maintaining accurate offsets of the features from the datum, these dimensions can
prevent escalating errors.
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X ordinate dimensions show the distance of a feature from the datum along the X-axis. And Y ordinate
dimensions show the distance along the Y-axis. The system determines whether the dimension is X or Y
ordinate dimension depending on the point you specify. If the distance is greater for the Y value, the
system creates an X ordinate dimension. Otherwise, the system creates a Y ordinate dimension.
X and Y ordinate values are determined by the absolute coordinate value of the current UCS. Before
creating ordinate dimensions, it recommends you to reset the UCS origin to coincide with the datum.
In the ordinate dimensions, the dimension text is always aligned with the ordinate leader line, ignoring
the text orientation defined by the current dimension style. You can also supply your
own text or accept
the default one.
To create an ordinate dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Ordinate from the main menu.
2. Select the point for an ordinate dimension.
3. Specify the ordinate leader endpoint.
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Select the ordinate point (A), and then specify the ordinate leader endpoint (B).
TIP To select precise ordinate points, use entity snaps.
9.3.6.
Create Quick Dimension
Creates or edits a series of dimensions quickly by typing QDIM command.
To create a quick dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Quick Dimension from the main menu.
2. Select the geometry to dimension, and then press Enter.
3. On the command line, it will display "Specify dimension line position, or
[Continuous/Staggered/Baseline/Ordinate/Radius/Diameter/datumPoint/Edit/seT
tings] :".
4. You can perform the operation as desired. The default is Continuous.
9.3.7.
Create Arc Length Dimensions
Arc length dimension is available for measuring the arc length of arc or polyline arc segm
ent. ZWCAD
creates arc length dimension by specifying extension line position directly after selecting arc by default.
And use an arc symbol as arc length dimension logo, which is differing from the linear dimension and
angular dimension.
Arc symbol of arc length dimension displays both in front of the dimension text and above it, which is
adjustable from "Other Items" tab either in "New Dimension Style" dialog box or "Modify Dimension
Style" dialog box.
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Additionally, orthogonal or radial extension line is available for arc length dimension, only the included
angle of the arc segment selected for creating arc length dimension is smaller than 90 degrees can display
its orthogonal extension line.
To create an arc length dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Arc Length from the main menu.
2. Select an arc or polyline arc segment.
3. Specify a point to position the arc length dimension.
9.4. Modify Existing Dimensions
You can modify all components of the existing dimens
ion objects in a drawing either individually or by
using dimension styles.
9.4.1.
Modify Dimension Style
You can modify all of the properties of the existing dimension objects in a drawing using dimension
styles. You can also create a dimension style override to temporarily change a dimensioning system
variable without changing the current dimension style.
As you create dimensions, the system applies the default current dimension style to the dimensions. The
created dimension remains this style unless you apply a new dimension style to it or set up dimension
style overrides.
You can also modify the current dimension style and apply it to existing dimensions. If a dimension style
is changed, the dimension associated with that dimension style updates automatically.
Override a Dimension Style
Overriding a dimension style changes a dimensioning system variable without changing the current
dimension. You can define dimension style overrides for the following situations:
For individual d
imensions, you may want to modify some properties of dimensions, such as suppressing
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a dimension's extension lines or modifying text and arrowhead placement so that they do not overlap
drawing geometry, without creating a new dimension style.
Set up overrides to the current dimension style. As you have created a dimension style override, all
dimensions that are created in this dimension style include the overrides, until you delete overrides, save
the overrides to a new style, or make another style current. For example, you can change the extension
lines' color on the Lines and Arrows tab by clicking the Override button in the Dimension Style Manager,
and keep the current dimension style unchanged. However, the new value for color is stored in thesystem
variable DIMCLRE. The extension lines of the dimension you create will apply the new color. The
dimension style overrides can be saved as the current dimension style.
Dimension style includes some common dimensio
n characteristics that are suited to be saved
permanently, and some are applied on an individual basis that can be applied more effectively as
overrides. For example, a single type of arrowhead is often used in a drawing, so it is suited to be saved
as part of the dimension style. However, suppression of extension lines often applies in individual cases
only and is more suited to a dimension style override.
The overrides apply to the dimension you are creating and all subsequent dimensions that are created
with it until you reverse it or set another dimension style to current.
9.4.2.
Make Dimensions Oblique
Extension lines are normally created at a perpendicular angle to the dimension line. You can change the
angle of the extension lines, however, so that they tilt relative to the dimension line.
To make oblique extension lines
1. Choose Dimension > Oblique from the main menu.
2. Select the linear dimension, and then press Enter.
3. Type the obliquing angle, and then press Enter.
S
elect the dimension to be made oblique (A), and then type the obliquing angle.
TIP To align the oblique angle if you don't know the exact measurement, use snaps to pick two points
on the entity.
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9.4.3.
Modify Dimension Text
You can change the existing dimension text including text content, location, and orientation.
The existing text in a drawing can be rotated, moved to a new location, or replaced with new text. You
can also move the text back to its home position using Dimension-Align Text-Home menu option. This
default location is defined in the current dimension style. In the following figures, the home position is
specified above and centered on the dimension line.
You can rotate the specified text at an angle using the Dimension -Align Text-Angle menu option, or
change the angle and content in the Properties palette.
When you move text, you have to select a single dimension to move first. You can move the dimension
text anywhere along the dimension lin
e. You can use grips to move text up or down, which does not
change the current vertical alignment of the text placement relative to the dimension line. However, the
dimension and extension lines are modified accordingly. The following figure shows the effect of moving
text up and to the right. The text placement relative to the dimension still remains centered and vertical.
To rotate dimension text
1. On the command line, type DIMEDIT.
2. Type R (Rotate).
3. Type the new dimension text angle, and then press Enter.
4. Select the dimension to be rotated, and then press Enter.
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NOTE The dimension text angle is relative to the dimension line. If the dimension text rotation is set to
zero, the text angle is defined by the dimension type and the dimension style.
To move dimension text
1. On the command line, type DIMTEDIT.
2. Select the dimension to reposition text.
3. Select the new text position.
Select the dimension to be moved (A), and then select the new text
position (B).
To restore dimension text to its home position
1. On the command line, type DIMEDIT.
2. Type H (Home).
3. Select the dimension text to restore, and then press Enter.
To replace existing dimension text with new text
1. On the command line, type DIMEDIT.
2. Type N (New).
3. Type the new dimension text, and then press Enter.
4. Select the dimension to be replaced, and then press Enter.
9.4.4.
Dimension Jogged
The DIMJOGLINE command is available for adding or removing jog symbol for linear dimensions,
showing a dimension value differs from its factual measured dimension value. Generally, the value
displayed here is greater than the actual measurement value.
The jogged line is composed of two paralleled lines and a connecting line with 40 degrees between them.
As for the height of the jogged line, the user can set it from "Other Items" tab either in "New Dimension
Style" dialog box or "Modify Dimension Style" dialog box.
After adding jog symbol to the linear dimension, the
jog is defaulted to be placed at the center point
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between first extension line and dimension text or center point based on the dimension text. To relocate
jog symbol, you can adjust the position of dimension text or specify the new position to locate jog after
reselecting dimension.
To add a jog to the linear dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Jogged Linear from the main menu.
2. Select a linear dimension.
3. Specify a point on the dimension line to determine the jog symbol, or press ENTER
directly to position the jog symbol in the default place.
9.4.5.
Dimension Inspection
You can add or remove dimension inspection for existing dimensions. For transmitting the frequency of
inspecting the part being dimensioned, the dimension value and parts tolerance are ensured to be within
specified range.
Dimension inspection can be added to any type of dimension objects, which is composed of a frame and
internal text. You can specify the shape of ins pection frame as round
, angular or none. An inspection
dimension contains utmost three kinds of information field: inspection tag, dimension value, and
inspection rate. Using a perpendicular line to divide the dimension information among each field.
In which, inspection tag, used for mark the text of dimension inspection is located on the left side within
the inspection frame.
Dimension value here is the value before adding dimension inspection, which is located in the central
part of the inspection dimension including tolerance, text and measurement value.
Inspection rate which is expressed by percentage is located at the right side within the inspection frame,
indicates the required frequency of the part being created.
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To create an inspection dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Inspect from the main menu.
2. In the Inspection Dimension dialog box, click Select Dimensions button.
3. Close the Inspection Dimension dialog box temporarily to switch to the drawing
area.
4. Select dimension
s to add dimension inspection, and then press ENTER to finish
selection and return to the dialog box.
5. Select a shape for the frame from the Shape option.
6. Click Label option to input label in the text box.
7. Click Inspection Rate option to input a value in the text box.
8. Click OK.
To remove an inspection dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Inspect from the main menu.
2. In the Inspection Dimension dialog box, click Select Dimensions button.
3. Close the Inspection Dimension dialog box temporarily to switch to the drawing
area.
4. Select dimensions to remove dimension inspection, and then press ENTER to finish
selection and return to the dialog box.
5. Click Remove Inspection button.
6. Click OK.
9.4.6.
Dimension Space Adjustment
Once you have created multiple paralleled linear dimensions or angular dimensions, you can adjust the
space among these paralleled lines with an equal value either default or specified.
Various methods are available for creating paralleled linear dimensi
ons and angular dimensions. Either
using DIMLINEAR and DIMANGULAR to create dimens ion one at a time or executing
DIMBASELINE and DIMCONTINUE to place other linear dimensions or angular dimensions according
to the linear dimension or angular dimension previously created.
When using DIMBASELINE for creating baseline dimensions, the space between each dimension is
identical, which is controlled by system variable DIMDLI, but the variable is only applied to control
dimension space for the subsequent dimension space. If you adjust dimension space by changing the size
of dimension text is changed only, or adjusting the dimension scale other than changing the position of
dimension line, then the dimension line is likely to be overlapped with text.
DIMSPACE command is also available for adjusting the space among paralleled linear or angular
dimensions or overlapped dimensions automatically in case that the original space is not equal values.
It should be noticed when adjusting dimension space
, the dimensions you select must be of the same
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type, for example, either all of the linear dimensions or angular dimensions. Additionally, these
dimensions must be paralleled, or share the same origin and placed at the extension line of one another.
If you set the space value to 0 when adjusting space among dimensions, you can align selected
dimensions at the dimension line. If you specify the space as Auto, dimension space among them is
default to twice of the text height. To modify the text height, you can set from the Text tab on the Modify
Dimension Style dialog box.
9.4.7.
Dimension Arrow Flip
Sometimes users want to flip over the dimension arrow as it displays awfully under narrow space or the
arrow looks not comfortable in the drawing. You can use command “AIDIMFLIPARROW” or right click
on the dimension to flip the arrow
(Flip the dimension arrow)
9.5. Add Geometric Tolerances
Geometric tolerances in a drawing show acceptable deviations of form,
profile, location, orientation, and
runout of a feature.
You can create geometric tolerances with or without leaders depending on you use the LEADER or the
TOLERANCE command.
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9.5.1.
Overview
Each feature control frame consists of at least two compartments. The first compartment contains a
geometric tolerance symbol that indicates the geometric characteristic to which the tolerance is applied,
such as location, orientation, or form. For example, a form tolerance may indicate the flatness or
roundness of a surface. The geometric tolerance symbols and their characteristics are shown in the
following.
Position
: Location
Concentricity or coaxiality
Symmetry
:Location
Parallelism
:Orientation
Perpendicularity
Angularity
:Orientation
:Orientation
Cylindricity
Flatness
:Location
: Form
: Form
Circularity or roundness
Straightness
Profile of a surface
: Form
: Form
: Profile
Profile of a line
: Profile
Circular runout
: Runout
Total runout
: Runou
t
The tolerance value can then be followed by primary, secondary, and tertiary datum reference letters,
along with the material conditions of each datum. Datum reference letters are generally used as reference
tolerances to one of up to three perpendicular planes from which a measurement is made, although datum
reference letters can also indicate an exact point or axis.
A feature control frame contains symbols that represent location, orientation, form, profile and runout
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that apply to a tolerance. Form tolerances control straightness, circularity, flatness, and cylindricity;
profiles control surface and line.
Most editing commands can change feature control frames, and these feature control frames can be
snapped to with the object snap. You can also use grips to edit geometric tolerances. Unlike dimensions
and leaders, geometric objects are not associated with geometric objects.
Material Conditions
The second compartment displays tolerance values. Depending o
n control type, you can add a diameter
symbol prior to the tolerance value, and specify a material condition symbol behind this value.
You can apply material conditions to features that can vary in size, shown as follows:
•
At maximum material condition (symbol M, also known as MMC), a feature contains the
maximum amount of material stated in the limits. At MMC, a hole has a minimum diameter,
whereas a shaft has a maximum diameter.
•
At least material condition (symbol L, also known as LMC), a feature contains the minimum
amount of material stated in the limits. At LMC, a hole has a maximum diameter, whereas a
shaft has minimum diameter.
Regardless of feature size (symbol S, also known as RFS) means a feature can be any size within the
stated limits.
Datum Reference Frames
A datum reference consists of values and modifying symbols. A datum is a theoretically exact geometric
reference that measures and verifies a theoretically exact point, axis, or plane. The system provides up
to three datum reference letters and relative symbols followed by the tolerance value. Two or three
mutually perpendicular planes perform best when you applying these datum references. They are jointly
called datum reference frame.
The following illustration shows a datum reference frame that consists of three perpendicular planes.
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Projected Tolerance Zones
Projected tolerance zones control the height of the fixed perpendicular part of the extension area, and
control tolerance accuracy by positional tolerances.
Before you set the symbol to projected tolerance zones, you set a height value to specify the minimum
projected tolerance zone. The following illustration shows the projected tolerance zone height and
symbol appearing in a frame.
Composite Tolerances
A composite tolerance consists of two tolerances that applied to the same geometric characteristic of a
feature or for features that have different datum requirements. One tolerance is in relation to a pat
tern of
features and the other tolerance to each feature within the pattern. The pattern tolerance is less restrictive
than the individual feature tolerance.
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In the illustration above, the axis formed by the point where datums A and B intersect called the datum
axis. The position of the pattern is calculated from that axis.
Before you create a dimension and add a composite tolerance for a drawing, you have to specify the first
line of a feature control frame and then choose the same geometric characteristic symbol for the second
line of the feature control frame. The specified geometric symbol compartment is extended over both
lines. Then you can create a second line of tolerance symbols.
9.5.2.
Adding geometric tolerances
Geometric tolerances indicate the maximum allowable variations in the geometry defined by a drawing.
ZWCAD draws geometric tolerances using a feature control frame, which is a rectangle divided into
compartments.
To add a geometric toleran
ce
1. Choose Dimension > Tolerance from the main menu.
2. In the Geometric Tolerance dialog box, click the first square under Sym and select
a symbol to insert.
3. Under Tolerance 1, click the first black box to insert a diameter symbol.
4. In the Text box, type the first tolerance value.
5. To add a material condition (optional), click the second black box and click a symbol
in the Material Conditions dialog box to insert it.
6. Under Tolerance 2, repeat steps 3 through 5 to add a second tolerance value, if
appropriate.
7. Under Datum 1, Datum 2 and Datum 3, enter the datum reference letter.
8. Click the black box to insert a material condition symbol for each datum reference.
9. In the Height box, type a projected tolerance zone height value, if appropriate.
10. To insert a projected tolerance zone symbol, click the Projected Tolerance Zone box,
if appropriate.
11. In the Datum Identifier box, add a datum value.
12. Click OK.
13. In the drawing, specify the location of the feature fr
ame.
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9.5.3.
Controlling dimension tolerance
You can create dimensions as either tolerance or limits dimensions. When creating a tolerance dimension,
you can control the upper and lower tolerance limits as well as the number of decimal places of the
dimension text. The image tile on the right side of the Dimension Settings dialog box shows the
appearance of tolerance and limits dimensions based on the current dimension style settings.
Tolerance dimension.
Limits dimension.
To create a tolerance dimension
1. Choose Dimension > Style from the main menu.
2. In the Dimension Style Manager dialog box, select the style you wish to change and
choose Modify.
3. Click the Tolerances tab.
4. Make your selections.
5. Click OK.
6. Choose Close to exit.
7. Dimension toolbar
9.6. Table
The table is a cell collection composed of rows and columns. Tables can be created from table style.
Meanwhile, you also can create table object according to the data in Microsoft Excel s
preadsheet.
The existing table can also be edited. Editorial content includes: To edit the text in a table cell, insert row
(column), delete row (column), merged cells, modified cell borders, and so on.
You can control the appearance of the new table by modifying the table style. Table style includes table
direction, background, text style and any other table characters.
9.6.1.
Table Toolbar
When you work in the Classic interface, the Table toolbar displays after you select a table object (if you
work in the Ribbon interface, then the Table Cell contextual tab displays). Functions of the buttons on
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the Table toolbar are described in the table below:
Icon
Name
Function Description
Insert Row above
Insert a row above the specified row or cell.
Insert Row below
Insert a row below the specified row or cell.
Delete Row(s)
Delete the current selected row.
Insert Column to
Left
Insert a column into the left side of the specified column or
cell.
Insert Col
umn to
Insert a column into the right side of the specified column or
Right
cell
Delete Column(s)
Delete the current selected column.
Merge the specified multi-cell into one large cell. There are
three kinds of merging cells.
All: Merge the specified multi-cell into one cell.
Merge Cells
By Row: Merge the specified multi-cell into several cells by
removing the vertical gridlines and leaving all the horizontal
gridlines.
By Column: Merge the specified multi-cell into several cells
by removing the horizontal gridlines and leaving all the vertical
gridlines.
Unmerge Cells
Separate the previously merged table cells.
Cell Borders
Set border options for the selected table cell in "Cell Border
Properties" dialog box.
MIDDLE
CENTER
Match Cell
Specify alignment of the cell contents.
Apply all properties of the selected cell to other cells.
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9.6.2.
Edit and Modify Table
Edit column & row
Operating Steps:
1. Select one cell in the table.
2. Click "Insert Row
above" button on the Table toolbar to insert a row above the
selected cell. You can also click "Insert Row below" button to insert a row below
the cell, click "Insert Column to Left" button to insert a column on the left side, and
click "Insert Column to Right" button to insert a column to the right side.
Merge and unmerge cells
Operating Steps:
1. Select one cell in the table.
2. Hold down the SHIFT key, and select another cell to be merged.
3. Click "Merge Cells" button on the Table toolbar, and select the way you want to
merge the cells. You can use the following three methods for merging: All, By Row
and By Column. Different merged cells will be generated according to different
merging ways.
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Change the appearance of cell borders
Operating Steps:
1. Select one cell in the table.
2. Click "Cell Borders" button on the Table toolbar to open the "Cell Border
Properties" dialog box.
3. In this dialog box, set the lineweight and color properties of cell borders.
4. Click OK to finish setting.
Edit data format and alignment
Operating Steps:
1. Select one cell in the table.
2. Click "Alignment" button on the Table toolbar to select alignment. Alignment
includes Top Left, Top Center, Top Right, Middle Left, Middle Center, Middle Right,
Bottom Left, Bottom Center and Bottom Right.
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Match cell format
Operating Steps:
1. Click "Match Cell" button on the Table toolbar, and then use the format of a
selected cell (source cell) to replace that of any other cell (destination cell).
2. The mouse pointer becomes a brush. Then you can match the destination cells by
clicking them.
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10. Blocks, Attribute and Xrefs
10.1. Create, Insert and Edit Blocks
Usually, blocks are several objects combined into one that you can insert into a drawing and manipulate
as a single object. A block can consist of visible objects such as lines, arcs, and circles, as well as visible
or invisible data called attributes. Blocks are
4. Click OK to finish setting.
Edit data format and alignment
Operating Steps:
1. Select one cell in the table.
2. Click "Alignment" button on the Table toolbar to select alignment. Alignment
includes Top Left, Top Center, Top Right, Middle Left, Middle Center, Middle Right,
Bottom Left, Bottom Center and Bottom Right.
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Match cell format
Operating Steps:
1. Click "Match Cell" button on the Table toolbar, and then use the format of a
selected cell (source cell) to replace that of any other cell (destination cell).
2. The mouse pointer becomes a brush. Then you can match the destination cells by
clicking them.
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10. Blocks, Attribute and Xrefs
10.1. Create, Insert and Edit Blocks
Usually, blocks are several objects combined into one that you can insert into a drawing and manipulate
as a single object. A block can consist of visible objects such as lines, arcs, and circles, as well as visible
or invisible data called attributes. Blocks are
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